4th of July and some Sophie

Happy belated 4th of July! I finally downloaded some pictures from my camera last night and wanted to share. We had a pretty good 4th of July. Saturday Ricky had to go to Clover, SC for a Memorial Service for his Uncle who passed away. Sophie and I spent the day hanging out at home (with a short run to Target).

Sunday Ricky and I got a rare opportunity to take our boat out for the day while my in-laws watched Sophie. This was a much needed day and we enjoyed it!! We love Sophie and want to spend as much time as possible with her, but sometimes we just need some time together, as all parents do.

So after our day on the boat we grilled chicken, ate, and put a very tired little girl to bed. Ricky and I watched some fireworks in the neighborhood, and then a tired mommy went to bed.

Monday we took Sophie to the beach and she's loving it more and more each time we go.

Getting ready to head out!

Not crowded at all, the way I like it!

Captain Ricky

Anchored and enjoying the day

So just an update that Sophie is doing awesome. After her 6th ear infection last month we finally have an appointment with the ENT (ear, nose, and throat) doctor on July 16th. They're going to take a look and see what's going on in there. I'm not opposed to tubes at all, quite honestly I'm tired of putting her on antibiotics. If tubes are going to make her feel better then let's do it!

Sophie is walking!! Well sort of. She can stand on her own and take a few steps, but would rather crawl because she knows how to do this better than walking. We give her TONS of encouragement so she'll work it out in her own time. The important thing is she's learning and taking more steps each day. She does really well when we're not paying attention, but the minute we notice, she decides that she doesn't want to walk anymore. Crazy girl!

Wylie being nosey

Taco's and lima beans - Yum!

Hmm...interesting place for her lima beans

food has been dumped and now she licks the plate

Standing!!

and getting into things!

Sophie and Wylie

This child loves Wylie. She will crawl over to him in a heartbeat and love on him. In recent weeks, Sophie has learned how to give kisses. Who does she give kisses to? Not Mommy or Daddy, Wylie.

So this is a big week for us, Sophie is becoming a toddler in so many ways. I knew it was coming but it's still hard to come to terms with. More for me than her. She's moved up to the next room at school so she's back with all her buddies who are older than her. This morning I brought her in and she seemed a little reluctant to let go of me. I sat her down at the little table where all the kids were eating their breakfast and gave her cereal. She started munching and they all just kind of sat there and stared at each other. It was cute. So I put her stuff up and left, she didn't seem to notice at all.

This week also starts the transition to whole milk. Gave her some on Saturday in her sippy cup and she would drink a little and then kind of look at me funny. She drank a little bit more yesterday. So we're taking less bottles to daycare to wean her. We're on our last tub of formula so once this is gone, that's it.

No walking yet, but she did stand on her own for a couple of seconds yesterday. I think it scared her slightly because her eyes got really big and she sat down all of a sudden. So I think it'll be a challenge for her to "let go" of her bottles, for me too. It means she's heading out of baby stage and it's just weird, a good weird. I think I'll let her get used to her new changes before I start "paci take away." THAT should be fun, especially at night!

So here's some pictures and a couple of me with my new hair color. I decided to go a little darker, back to my original color. I love having the blond highlights, but this summer I just wanted something different. I like it!! Goes well with the tan.

Snow in Summerville!

I admit I was a nay sayer, but it actually snowed in Charleston last night. We got close to 5 inches! I was not overly excited to get snow as I'm just so very ready for warmer weather. But it's already starting to melt so that makes me happy :) Needless to say I'm in the minority with that opinion. Most everyone I know was very excited. The pups got to run around and this is Wylie's first snow so I think he enjoyed it. Not to mention the multiple power outages we had last night. It was pretty darn cold in the house and I was worried about Sophie getting cold so I didn't sleep much. This was not my week to sleep.

Sophie is 8 months old as of yesterday!!! She's had a rough week, little bit of a virus with just a fever and that's it. Teething on top of that made for some rough nights of little sleep for all. It seems to be getting better.

Other news, my race last weekend went very well. I ran a 5k in 28:01!! My fastest time ever. Very happy with that time since my goal was to run it in 28:45. It can only get better from here. Unfortunately this week I have only run once since I've been dog tired from my lack of sleep. I've got 2 10k's next month so I need to get on the ball.

Here are some pictures of Sophie, dogs, and snow!

The "Ruff" Life of Wylie

So we just put Sophie to bed and walked into this bonus room to see this:

Pathetic isn't it?

A Visit from Uncle Mike and Aunt Sarah

This past weekend we had a visit from Mike and Sarah as they were traveling down to Savannah. They drove in on Saturday and then were heading to Savannah Monday. They got tons of Aunt and Uncle time with Sophie and we had a pretty low key weekend.

Sunday they watched Sophie while Ricky and I went to the gym (which we rarely get to do anymore, so nice!) and then we watched the Panther's lose and steamed Oysters! I haven't had Oysters in a gosh, maybe 2 years since I was pregnant last fall. Yum!! Missed them. Ricky went to pick them up from Crosby's Seafood on Folly Beach Sunday morning. He took Wylie with him and got a few pictures of Wylie loving the car ride. Ears flapping in the wind, he was in heaven.

And of course pictures of Miss Sophie. This is a big week for her. At daycare they are doing Holiday pictures tomorrow, she gets to dress in her Bumble Bee costume on Friday, and then it's off to Charlotte on Saturday to go Trick-or-Treating with Garrett! We are going to a pumpkin patch too. So exciting!

Clean pups

Today we took Zoe and Wylie to get groomed. Zoe was in need of a hair cut BAD. We went ahead and shaved Mr. Wylie as well, so we could attempt to get a grip in the dog hair that accumulates in the house. It's amazing what we vacuum up on a weekly basis. While the dogs were away we cleaned the heck out of the house in preparation for Sophie's arrival. Now we have nice, clean, and hairless pups and a clean house. They sure are cute when they get shaved and were super happy. For being so good they even got bones to chew. Those came in handy while I napped. There was no barking for a good 2 hours.

Some Progress

We've made some progress with the nursery this weekend. Sophie's initials were spray painted, got the paintings framed up and hung, ceiling fan has been installed....we're on a roll. Still have some things to add to the nursery. My mom is making the curtains and another piece of artwork to go on the opposite wall (a butterfly out of buttons sewn on canvas, can't wait to see what it looks like).
Here's a few pictures, and as always, one of the dogs. It has been a sunny and warm weekend so the dogs got to be outside a bunch. As we were in the nursery hanging the paintings, I glanced in the bedroom and they were both laid out on the bed. They have such rough lives.

Lazy pups

Snuck one in of Ricky

Paintings are officially complete. Ricky built the frames

out of lattice strips, which he also stained. He did a

great job!

Just a few butterflies and a dragonfly I found. A nice touch.

Sophie's initials over the crib.

Nursery Paintings

This is how Zoe was sleeping yesterday.

Wylie loves to lay at the top of the stairs.


Flowers 1 and 2, not quite finished but a great start.

Flower 3 will be on the bigger canvas in the middle.


This past weekend I started the paintings for Sophie's nursery. Here are a few pictures of what I've done so far. The two aren't quite done, I've still got some finishing touches to put on and then the third is the bigger canvas that's going in the middle. It's a start, much more left to do.
And of course, random pictures of the dogs.

Random Dog Pictures

Here are some random pictures of Zoe and Wylie. They are, at times, the cutest dogs.

Puppy Hangover

This is what we like to call a "puppy hangover." After spending the weekend with the family, the dogs are completely worn out.