Down on the Farm

Watch out Pioneer Woman there's a new rancher in town. Yesterday I skipped out on work a little early, picked Sophie B. up from day care, and headed over to the farm to visit my dad and my aunt who was visiting from PA. Talk about a kid who was excited to see some cows! I personally think they smell awful. And they are COVERED in flies and only occasionally swish the flies off with their tail. But Sophie was in cow heaven pointing at them and saying "moooooo." My dad lives about an hour away and we don't get over to visit very often but hopefully as Sophia gets older we will go over more. He has over 500 acres to run wild on and he thinks we're insane because we live in an actual neighborhood with next door neighbors. Every single time he comes over for a visit you can count on him saying, "I'd never live in a place where you can't pee off your front porch." Now that's real classy and the perfect opening to a "you might be a redneck if..." joke. Have I mentioned the utterly insane gene pool on my dad's side? And they are 100% aware of just how insane they are.

Homecoming

Not the world's greatest picture and Oscar the Boxer's big ol' head is in the way and there's at least an inch thick coating of doggy drool and baby hand prints on the glass. But it just melts my heart. Makes me wonder how long she'll get excited like this when we come home from work. How long will we be numero uno in Little Bit's little world. Before stupid boy drama starts or she comes home and stomps off straight to her bedroom and slams the door. Can't we just keep her pipsqueak size forever?

Wacky Wednesday

I can't believe that I've had this caricature drawing of Sophie for almost two months and haven't posted it for you yet! Of course if I had a scanner and didn't have to break out my ghetto method of taking a picture of a picture it would be MUCH easier. Anywho, we had this done while we were at the beach. Totally cracks me up.

Random Tuesday

Since I don't really have much to blog about I thought that I'd just throw out a few things that have been floating around in my head lately. Interesting stuff, huh?

1. Does my child have the stinkiest feet in her day care class? Or is there another kid with stinkier feet? If there is, god help him or her.
2. The Singing Bee is my show of the moment. I think that I'd be really good on it until I play along, then I realize that I'd probably look like a fool.
3. Sophia seriously needs to learn the word "yes." Hearing "no" for EVERYTHING is starting to get a little old.
4. I made around 100 big ones at the yard sale and I still have a TON of clothes left over. It totally cracks me up what people buy at yard sales. Forget the name brand adorable outfits, they want the formula stained Walmart specials.
5. We are less than two weeks away from the annihilation of the Turds, I mean the Herd by WVU. Lets Go....MOUNTAINEERS!
6. Have you seen that commercial for ilovealpacas.com? Those suckers are CUTE! I wonder if I can talk Papa Rocky into getting one for Sophia instead of a pony, since I'm deathly allergic. But do they spit? Or is that just a camel thing?
7. I don't want to jinx it but on Saturday we took Sophie out to eat and she did GREAT! The last few times she's acted like a wild Banshee.
8. Did I tell you guys that the peanut allergy test came back positive? Not a surprise but still a big bummer. No PB&J, no Reese cups, no PB and celery. And we now have Epi Pens.
9. Sophia does the cutest kitty cat "MEOW" ever. It sounds like "Meeeee, oooow."
10. And what's a post without me harping on the former #7 Falcon. Michael Vick found Jesus and he hasn't even spent one night in jail. That's gotta be a world record. And now I'll sleep so much better tonight knowing that little tidbit of info.

Oh and don't forget to stop and smell the flowers, er, branches. Whatever, floats your boat.

Color Wonder

I've discovered that when you have a kid you get to do all of the things that you liked to do when you were little. Like coloring! I was a HUGE fan of coloring. I remember around Halloween and Christmas time our local grocery store would have coloring contests and I would be one POed kid if I didn't place. And of course it didn't get much better than the ginormous box of Crayola crayons with the sharpener in the back! But no matter how hard I try, Sophia just isn't in to the whole coloring scene yet. I've tried the Color Wonder markers but all she wants to do is take the caps on and off. And get a load of her technique. It's interesting to say the least.

And here she is admiring the work of a master. Mommy. I must say that's one good looking Dorothy the Dinosaur.

Morning "Nack"

That's Sophie speak for "snack." Here she is eating some grapes at Grammy's. And of course she's running around with no pants on. We're Red Necks, what can I say. But it's too darn hot to sleep in PJ pants so I usually let her sleep in just a shirt. Isn't her hair getting long? I'm debating on whether or not I should keep cutting her bangs or let them grow out and go for a bob kind of hair do. Thoughts?

I've also been a busy bee today. I'm teaming up with Stephanie (Gracie's mom), for one heck of a yard sale tomorrow. All morning I've been dragging stuff out of the attic and pricing away! I'm telling you if someone has a little girl they are gonna hit the mother load.

Going Live

I finally figured out how to post a video!Yay! I had to steal my point and shoot camera back from my mom but seeing as she hasn't taking one single photo in the 8 months since I gave it to her I don't think she minded too much. This was just a quick video that I took this evening to see just how this thing works. I had to bribe Sophie with fruit snacks to get her to say a few things. So here she is saying please (peas), bye bye, ciao, and Amen (which this time sounds more like "All Right"). Please excuse the fact that she looks like a refugee (the girl had a hard day of playing at daycare)and ignore the screaming and crying at the end, we ran out of fruit snacks...GASP!

How Many Frogs Does a Girl Have Kiss?

Before she gets her prince? That's the question of the day folks. All I can say is that I wish it was that easy Little Bit. Oh the joys of having a girl.

And perhaps the bigger question. Why do my in laws have a toddler sized wooden frog on their back porch? I guess he's just been biding his time and waiting for the perfect photo op.

Hammock Time

Not to be confused with the great classic of 1990, "Hammer Time." Hammock time involves pushing Sophia on the hammock and hoping that you don't flip her out while she laughs her heart out. I bet I've flipped my big butt out of one of those things a million times. This hammock lives at Grammy and PapPap's. Unfortunately we don't have one at home as we don't have two trees close together. Maybe at our next house. And maybe we can get a few cabana boys to fan me while I lay in it?

Oh and is any one else a little ticked off that that waste of space Michael Vick took a plea? I was so hoping that trash would go to trial and be found guilty. I seriously hope that jackass never gets another paycheck for as long as he lives.

Steeler Mania

"Here we go Steelers. Here we go. Pittsburgh going to the Superbowl!"

It's that time of year again. So from now until February I'm gonna hear that little jingle at least nine hundred thousand times. My husband will be stealing the computer to play fantasy football and my TV will be confiscated for hours. So what's Little Bit to do in a family where she's the only girl? Wear pink Steeler gear of course!

This whole Steelers obsession is all new to me. But it's not new in Steven's family. When he was little he even had Pittsburgh Steeler wallpaper to match his Pittsburgh Steeler bedding! So this weekend we headed to PA for a visit and Grammy and PapPap had this cute little outfit waiting on Sophie. We threw it on her (the boys were already wearing their jerseys of course) and started snapping away. Even the newest member of the family, 3 week old Tyler, had on his Steeler hat! But he's still to little to allow this crew to hold him for a picture so we had to keep him in his carrier.

So here's hoping for a lot of "TOUCHDOWNS" this year!

Disclaimer: Ok so they were really saying "AMEN" to "If your happy and you know it."

Scrub Scrub

Warning: Picture Overload.

Who would have thought that washing a 75 pound dog could be so fun? Oscar loves getting a bath but this particular bath took a little longer than normal. Hmmm, I wonder why? It could be because bubbles were involved. Oh and I almost forgot the best part, spraying him down with the water hose! Good times were at by all. Errrr...by humans that is!

17 for 17 Months

Wow. Tomorrow Sophia will be 17 months old. We are quickly saying c-ya to baby land and hello to toddler world. I'm not sure that we're ready but I don't think that really matters. Sophie B is a kid who's not gonna wait for anyone. She is a ball of fire, which is both good and bad. I told Anne the other day that she reminds me of a bull in a china shop. But as she breaking every dish, she sometimes pauses just to run back to us and give us kisses. Then she sets off again. So in honor of Little Bit's 17 month b-day here's 17 things she's been up to and/or into.

1. Still climbing on anything and everything. We've found her on the kitchen table, the back of the couch, the computer desk, out of her crib, in her high chair. The list goes on and on. She has been banned from buggy rides at day care because she wiggles out of the restraints and stands in the buggy.
2. Talking non-stop. Although 99% of the time we have no clue what she is saying.
3. She says "peas" for please and it's the cutest thing ever.
4. She LOVES to read her bee book and calls it "buzz."
5. She can say and point to her eyes, mouth, ears and nose
6. She's quite the little dancer and knows all of the motions to "5 Little Monkeys" the "Wheels on the Bus" and "the Itsy Bitsy Spider."
7. She has a million bug bite, bruises, and scrapes and scratches and they don't faze her one bit.
8. She now screams for "MY PATSY" (my paci) at nap time and bed time. That should be fun to take away in a few months.
9. She drags poor Oscar around the house on his leash.
10. She loves to pretend like she is putting on make-up.
11. LOVES LOVES LOVES to get her hands on my computer. Maybe we have the next Bill Gates on our hands.
12. She MUST start each morning at daycare with string cheese. And if Daddy forgets to bring it god help him, her entire day is ruined.
13. She has a thing for Jeff Wiggle because he's the one who goes to "SEEEEEEP" (sleep).
14. She can wash her hands but absolutely HATES to brush her teeth. This is a nightly battle.
15. She can say "pee pee" and loves to sit on the toilet with her Dora ring but has NO CLUE what "pee pee" actually means. Although she does know the sound "psssssss."
16. Petting the day care cats puts the biggest smile on her face. Although they've caught on and usually run from her.
17. Did I mention that she climbs on EVERYTHING?

And what's a post with out a photo. Here's our nutty kid in her b-day suit. I find the clinched butt cheeks to be quite amusing. She sort of looks like she's rockin' a mullet in this pic. I wish the back would get long enough to put in a pony tail. Oh and god only knows what she's pointing at.

Home Sweet Home

Well after spending the night in Charlotte thanks to a) the weather b) technical difficulties or c) the shuttle taking off in Florida (apparently we had our choice of which excuse to buy from US Air) we finally made it home. We had an awesome little mini vacation, although, August during a heat wave is not the ideal time to be running around a theme park. But despite the blistering heat it was nice to pretend we were kids again jumping on and off rides. Since our hotel was connected to Universal our room keys worked as "express passes." So there was no standing around in mile long lines for us. It was "see ya peasants" as we bypassed 500 people in the 105 heat. When the time comes to take Miss Sophie B. down to the great money pit of Orlando I will DEFINITELY be shelling out the extra cash for the express pass.

I really didn't take too many pictures. It was to much of a hassle to drag the camera around the parks. I spent most of the day lounging at the pool reading Harry Potter. And I didn't suck down too many tropical drinks because they were $10. 75 each! I've been to some expensive places in my life but an $11 pina colada takes the cake! We missed Sophie B. like crazy and the whole time said "oh Sophie would have loved it here" ESPECIALLY Seuss Landing at Universal with the coolest Dr. Seuss merry-g0-round I have ever seen in my life! So here are just 2 pictures. One of the pool where I spent most of my time while Steven was in class. And the other of a statue at the resort which I find to be quite hilarious.

I'm off...

to Orlando! See ya in a few! Don't have to much blogging fun without me.

Picnic Time

This evening we headed over to a local park for Steven's company picnic. All I can say is that it was HOT. Very hot. I bet the humidity was 98%. Don't get me wrong, I love the heat as long as I'm pool side or beach side. But if neither of those two things are around I do nothing but sweat. Definitely not one of my finer qualities. My ubber stylish cousin has never in her life perspired like a big ole sweat hog, instead she glistens. I don't get it. But my point is that I don't think Little Bit is going to be glistening in the sun. Within 10 minutes of playing on the playground her hair was plastered to her head and she was yelling for a drink to cool down. Luckily, I snapped a few photos before she was lobster red and soaked!

And here she is checking out baby Nichole who just turned one.

Back Again

Yep another photo of the backside. But if I didn't take shots from the back how would you be able to see these cute little pigtails sticking up? This was taken a few weeks ago over at Gracie's house. I'm not sure what the girls were looking at inside. I'm sure it had to do with wanting to be inside since we were outside.

And this afternoonI had to take Sophie to get some blood work done for her peanut allergy. As you mommies out there know having your little one's blood taken is horrible. But this time I came prepared. As soon as the nurse finished filling the biggest tube of blood I have ever seen in my life, I had a Dum Dum unwrapped and in Sophie's mouth. She immediately forgot about the pain. Even the nurse was laughing!

And see my super cool new blog button over on the right. They are all the rage these days. Janice made mine for me because I'm a photoshop dummy. If you want to be super cool too and add blog buttons to your page just email me and I'll send you the instructions.

Little Mama

I absolutely love it when Sophie plays with her baby doll. There's just something about her taking care of her baby that completely melts my heart. She takes "baaaay-bee" for rides in the little baby doll stroller, she feeds him, pats him to sleep (which is more like knocking his lights out), and she gives him lots of kisses. Isn't that just the sweetest thing!? But I have to admit that it's not always hugs and kisses. A few nights ago Steven found Baby laying at the bottom of the stairs. Apparently Sophie had chucked him down the stairs, but Baby's a tough little fella.

So that was the sweet part of my evening. Now to the bad part. My dog. Seriously, I could have pulled a Michael Vick on him tonight (and I know that sounds horrible b/c that POS ghetto scum has a warm spot waiting for him you know where). Anyway, I was preparing dinner. On the menu, steaks. Did Kim and Steven get to eat those steaks tonight? Uh no. I turned my back for one second to stop Sophia from knocking over her humidifier over and that little bastard at two freaking steaks in .2 seconds. So instead I got to eat a baked potato while Oscar sat out on the back deck with a full belly.