Saturday will mark 3 weeks since we moved to Wichita. In many ways I can't believe how quickly it's gone, and in some ways it seems like we've been here much longer. Time has a way of doing that to you.
God has been so good to us here. I can't be sure, but before our move I think I expected to be feeling a little "claustrophobic" at this point in our stay with Mom and Dad. However, it really hasn't been bad at all. There are even some perks, like the fact that after Sophie's asleep Ben and I can run to the store together because my parents are at the house. Not to mention the special experience of having family right here for Sophie. Here's Sophie and my mom reading last night. And as a sidenote, my 10-month-old daughter LOVES books, which I am ecstatic about. (The other picture I threw in to say, "Yipee for summer clothes!!")
WOW. As I write this, there have been 95 votes on our blog for Sophie's baby contest picture. THANK YOU. I'm in amazement. I can't believe that many of you have been to my blog to vote, and Sophie and I both feel honored. Ben doesn't really care. Ha ha, yes he does, and he was excited that the crazy hair bathtub pic is the front runner; it's his favorite. There is one day left to vote, but it seems pretty obvious that we'll be submitting that picture. If you haven't seen it, you can see it on the post right before this one. We'll make sure to keep you all updated, although we won't know anything for a few months still.
We are adjusting to life here in Wichita. Ben likes his job so far, and he especially likes the people he works with. Sophie and I are getting used to being at her Grandma's all the time. She loves having Grandma, Grandad and Uncle Jeremy around to give her lots of attention. It definitely feeds right into her Drama Queen profile. Jeremy went with me and Sophie on a walk yesterday afternoon - the weather was gorgeous. Here is a pic of our Sun Bunny before the walk.
Sophie still isn't crawling, which is probably a blessing, as I doubt that my parents' house is child-proofed. But, since I'm a therapist and want my child to develop in some semblance of normalcy, it drives me BANANAS that she's 9 & 1/2 months and not crawling. She is, however, pulling up and cruising all over the place. All the TVs are in higher positions here, so we can't really sit her down in front of one for Sesame Street or Baby Einstein. Instead, I put my laptop on the fireplace and put on a Baby E there. Soph no longer sits still for her videos, though. Almost before the video starts, she's pulling up onto her knees or into a standing position, and she'll stand there and play and watch her video. It's so funny. Below is a pic.
You've just gotta love the fat, squishy legs. Oh, I adore them.
Please send us emails or leave us comments and let us know how you all are - we miss our OK friends!
Call us biased, but we think our Sophapilla is way cuter than lots of the babies we see in ads today. So, we're entering Soph in Good Morning America's Cover Contest. The top 8 finalists get a free trip (with both parents) to New York for a professional photo shoot, and then the winner gets to appear on Good Morning America and the cover of Baby Talk magazine.
We have so many cute pics of Sophie, but we can only submit ONE. Bummer. They ask for a photo that "shows off your cutie pie's personality and charm," and it can't be the product of a professional. I know, too bad, we were ready to call up Abbie or Judson.
SO, below you'll see four pictures that Ben and I think are stinking cute. PLEASE GO TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF OUR BLOG AND CLICK ON THE BUTTON TO VOTE ON YOUR FAVORITE. The winner will be the pic we submit to the contest. Remember, it's supposed to show her personality! We want her to stand out from all the other cute babes!
The voting will expire in one week! Please leave us any comments or suggestions you have, and thanks for helping us make it to GMA!
PLEASE VOTE AT THE RIGHT WHERE THE VOTING BUTTONS ARE.
We're here, at my mom and dad's house, in Wichita. I haven't lived here for ten years. For those of you who didn't think I was that old... well... I am. The last time I called this my humble abode, I was 18 years old and preparing to head off for good ol' Oklahoma Christian. Who would've known I'd be back at the ripe old age of 28, with husband and child in tow?
As if I wasn't already having enough frightening flashbacks to mega-acne and Ace of Base, last night I lost my retainer. No, that's not a typo. I definitely was walking around my parents house searching high and low for the $300 piece of plastic and metal that holds my teeth in place. God definitely has a sense of humor.
I have to give a quick shout-out to our moving helpers. In OKC on Friday night, we had an awesome turnout of friends who helped us load the U-Haul (and I have to say, I think the hubbies secretly enjoyed their life-size game of Tetris, because there wasn't a spare portion of air space in that truck). After we said our goodbyes, we attempted to go to sleep on an air mattress that was on-loan to us. We had a great time laying there as the mattress quickly deflated, and we slowly gravitated toward the center of the mattress and each other. Good times. We ended up on the cold floor before we could even get to sleep. It was a very funny moment for us - our last night in our house.
Saturday we got to Wichita and had another load of friends waiting to help us move things from the truck into storage. As Farhana so beautifully put it, "You have lots of Movers!" Yes, we did, and we are full of gratitude!!
Now we're packed like sardines (happy sardines) into mom and dad's. Ben and I, along with our computer and lots of our things, are in the guest room, and Sophie's crib and changing table are in the office. Poor dad hasn't been able to check his email since Saturday (okay, that's a slight exaggeration).
No news on our house selling, but God has good plans for us!
**Baby contest! We are going to enter Sophie in Good Morning America's cutest baby contest. We want your help!! We have too many cute pics of our little angel, and we can only enter one. So, check back in the next week or so to vote on which picture we should submit. We'll be posting soon!**
I didn't realize how cold they were until I put my feet on Ben's legs. Suddenly he was jumping out of bed and screaming insanities into our dark room, "Get away from me crazy woman! Liquid nitrogen has nothing on your frozen toes!" Instead of an apology, a feeble plea drifted from my side of the bed, "Please come back and warm up my feet!" As any truly loving, sacrificial husband would do, he sweetly climbed back into bed. But as I moved my feet back over for some of that coziness, a stark reality hit me: he was ON TOP of the sheet, making sure that my tootsies, which were under the sheet, couldn't reach his toasty warmness. "No fair," I screamed, as I moved my feet higher, attempting to get past his barrier. Then there was a blur of arms, sheets, and a face with my feet on them, as we both scrambled and fought to prove our own point. Our bellies ached with laughter, and as we settled back to say our evening prayer, the Lord's reminder moved through me like a breeze on a warm summer's day: "You are so blessed, my child."
