all of a sudden

one evening Sophie decided she could climb stairs. She couldn't do it at all in the morning, but all of a sudden she was strong enough. Now she loves going up the stairs. She just started actually doing it holding my hands and stepping up. She's getting too big too fast!



and no, she's not falling at the end of the video...I just got nervous that she would. I mean, she was up 2 stairs already (:

wedding weekend

This past weekend we were in the Chicago area for Mike's aunt's wedding. It was a whirlwind weekend with 2 of the 3 days used for driving! We had a 12 passenger white van that the 8 of us traveled in. It was definitely an experience! We didn't take hardly any pictures (in fact, only one) because Sophie had a fever on Saturday so we kind of took it easy. But, luckily, Oma sent us some fun pictures she had taken.

Opa & Sophie at the rehearsal dinner

typical brotherly love...I think they were having a tickle fest or something

the "Siamese" doctor (?) playing Yahtzee

get me out of this car!!!

after the wedding

cuddling with daddy (still not feeling well)

this is how most of Saturday was spent...cuddling
and one of the newly married couple...congrats Dennis & Kathy!

happy father's day

I'm pretty sure that Sophie will be a daddy's girl...

cabin time

this past weekend Sophie made her first trip up to the cabin. It was so fun to be able to experience a lot of firsts with her. First time with a life jacket on, going in the lake, and riding in the boat. She was a trooper and seemed to enjoy everything, except for maybe the lake water which was just a little too cold yet.

and we're off...

We've been waiting for it...working on it...excited for the time when Sophie would figure out how to move on her own. In a span of about a week she has started crawling all over the place, pulling herself up using anything she can get a good hold of (including her crib), and walking (almost running it seems like) as soon as she grabs on to someone's fingers. Even though we know that things are going to be a lot crazier with her on the move, it's so fun to see her figure it all out.

uh-oh...caught in the act

unconventional, but can get her wherever she wants and fairly quickly!

9 months old

Sophie turned 9 months old last Friday. It's so hard to believe. She barely gained any weight these past 3 months, only weighing in at 19 pounds at her doctor's appt., which is in the 54th percentile. She is 28.5 inches long which is in the 82nd percentile. Tall & skinny! The kid eats soooo much, but I think she works it all off because she never stops moving!

fun times outside

We've been enjoying the nice weather and are enjoying our new garden...apparently so is Sophie!

before

after

helping daddy?

animal house

Oma & Opa bought this shirt for Sophie before we even knew we were having a little girl. We thought it was hilarious and now Sophie is big enough to actually wear it. The last picture actually looks like she might have been part of the movie...

happy graduation

Jake graduated from high school this past Monday night. It was kind of weird for me as Jake was going into 3rd grade when Mike and I started dating. Needless to say, I felt VERY old. But, we are very proud of him and excited to see him enter the college world in the fall, even though we'll miss him!

how to sit in a high chair

Sophie apparently likes to be comfortable while she eats...

backyard work

Mike, Matt, and others have been very busy the past couple of weeks turning our backyard into something a little more exciting than a yard full of grass. Their hard work has produced a great looking veggie garden and some bushes, flowers, and even small pine tree. Now we can't wait to see everything start growing!

before:


after:


before (this is the only picture I could find of this part of our backyard...it was taken before we had even moved in our house, almost 4 years ago!):


after: