Best Friends

Meh, why not?

I guess since I was trying out some new diy facial cleansers, you had to do it too. So, a tablespoon of honey and a teaspoon of baking soda later... and voila... we had this....



Check out those babes. Our skin did feel pretty soft afterwards, but I woke up the next morning with Mt. St. Helens on my forehead. Two of them! Womp Womp.

Maybe I'll keep trying it for a week or so and see how it goes.

And we didn't stop there. Because I've heard about the miraculous powers of apple cider vinegar, we put some of that on our faces too (mixed with water.) Meh, why not? Well, maybe because it made our faces smell like dirty feet, that's why not.

Lesson Learned.

Um, That's My Pillow

Every night, you throw your pillow on the ground and say you don't need one. And every night you end up on my pillow. I usually wake up with a kink in my neck from only getting to use 1/4 of MY pillow.

You're 4 years old. And you sleep with me still. I've tried to break the habit, but it has been such a battle. Basically I'm a quitter. I gave up.

Some nights I sure wish I could stretch out and get a solid night's sleep with the whole bed to myself. And some would say that I'm crippling your independence and enabling you and blah blah blah.

But most nights I'm thankful to have you so close. The doors are locked, I've got the heavy duty Mag light by the bed, and we're safe. I can protect you when you're this close. (Though let's be honest... what am I gonna do with a Mag light?)

Makes me wish you could always be this close. That I could always protect you.

I love the sweet giggles I hear every night and the sweet face I see every morning. And if you want to sleep in my room until you're 28, then so be it. You might want to rule out the idea of ever having a brother or sister though.

Making New Friends :-)

Babysitting Gig

We sometimes get to babysit for this sweet little guy, Mason.

You love "taking care" of the baby :-)

And this is what can be find right outside their living room window! So pretty!

Playing Dress Up!

Ballerina Sophie!

Wearing Mama's lipstick :-)

Can't decide?

Yeah, sorry about this......

So Sleepy

It's the most wonderful time of the year... Fall

You loved riding the pony!!  So upset to have to get off!

Growing too fast!

As I type this, I'm watching your video monitor....watching you sleep in your "big girl bed". Hard to believe!!! A sweet friend gave us a toddler bed. When she gave it to us, I planned to keep it in storage until you needed it, since you were still sleeping in your crib. Well, you had other plans!!! And voila.... you are now on your 3rd night sleeping in your big girl bed... so far so good! A little sad though...  growing up so fast!!! :-(

Watching pa-paw getting the bed ready.....

All set for your first night!

And while we're on the topic of her growing up... you're still doing well with the potty! Yay! You're definitely not potty-trained.... but you comes to us at least twice or three times a day to tell us you have to go potty, and then you do! So proud of you!!! You get so so excited too!.... and then has to get everybody to come look at it.... "Come see!!! Come see!"

Sweet Sophie girl!!!

Swimming!

We have been doing quite a bit of swimming this summer!







This last picture is us at your very first swim lesson. Here, you're practicing jumping in. You actually liked that part. Everything else about swim lessons?... not so much.

Who doesn't like a pb&j?

"They" say that a child will be more inclined to try a new food if it is cut in a fun shape. Well, for some reason, you don't like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches... I've never heard of a kid not liking a good ole pb&j. So, I used a cookie cutter to make the sandwich into a heart and then made a face out of strawberries... since you love strawberries




And just as I suspected.... you picked off the strawberries, ate them, and then handed me the plate saying, "I'm full, mama." Hmmm, well that didn't work!

I love Craigslist and Ebay!

I've had my heart set on getting you several things lately, but definitely haven't had the funds to match! However, I scour craigslist, ebay, and consignment stores quite often, and here are some of the great finds I've had this summer!!!! God worked out some pretty neat things to give us this stuff!

I've been checking stores and online for wagons all summer, but couldn't find one the right price. These go for over $100! Got this at Once Upon a Child for $35! Sophie loves it!

Been wanting a kitchen set for Sophie for a long time. Got a great deal on this, and it came with a table and chairs (which you can kind of see in the picture) as well as the whole set of pots/pans/food/plates, etc. We drove to Chicago to pick it up :-) Fun day road trip!

You are quite the hostess... constantly wanting us to eat something from your kitchen!

15 miles away from where we picked up the kitchen set, someone was selling this slide for super cheap. We bid on it from the van, won the bid, and picked up the slide on our way home.

Got this slide/cube off Craigslist... a little faded, but still in great shape.

Ok, so this wasn't one of my "finds". Actually, this was a gift... but you sure do look cute on your bike, don't ya think?

Cleaning Up!

You like to drag things out of your dresser drawers and scatter them all over the house. But, when you're told to put them away... you do :-)

Momma's Shoes

On Two Wheels!

You and I have a new favorite thing to do! You love riding bikes with momma and I'm hoping to get in some exercise at the same time!

All ready to go:

First time riding with you on the back... I was pretty nervous at first!





Loved it!

All tuckered out after a long ride... you'd think that you were the one tired from pedaling!!!!

Outside!

I can hardly get you to stay inside these days! You love the outdoors. You love:

Picking up "cheese"  trees branches...



Collecting rocks. You have a small plastic bowl that you carry around and fill up with rocks. You love it for some reason!

You love figuring out how to ride a tricycle. You haven't quite mastered the pedaling aspect, but working on it. You mostly just like getting on and off it! This tricycle in the picture is the same one that Uncle Adam and I both used when we were kids.

A Day of Firsts

Several firsts all in one day!


First time eating corn-on-the-cob... which you loved!
It's hard to tell in this picture, but your hair is also in a ponytail for the first time. I'm so glad that it's long enough for a ponytail, just in time for summer!

You also got your first skinned knee that day! Poor baby. You were fine until I tried to clean it out. The band-aid was pretty cool though.

P.S. Aren't your little hands just the sweetest things?!

Ketchup!

We discovered the other day that you love ketchup!!!

Monkey Joe's!

Big Brothers Big Sisters had a fundraiser/ match activity tonight at Monkey Joe's. I took you with me and had a great time! You were unsure at first, but then had a blast!




They have a toddler area for children 3 and under....











...but you got bored with that and wanted to go on the "big kid" slides....


...and I think I had just as much fun as you did! So glad I can take you to work events with me!

Goin' Swimmin'

We went to the Y today for your first time in a pool! I was so excited... you, not so much :-) Held on to me for dear life!

Us in the pool
Exploring the locker room :-) A whole new world! I'm thinking now I should've probably had you wear flip-flops. Gross. Mom of the Year, here!

After a little while of being in the water, you were loving it! There was a lot of splashing, that's for sure :-) You even sat on the ledge and jumped into my arms... loved that! I plan on getting you signed up for swim lessons soon. Can't wait for more of these times!