Soooo Big!

It seems as if every day Sophia is learning and doing new things. For quite a while Grandma Boss has been asking and teaching Sophia how big she is by asking her, "How big is Sophia?" Then she raises Sophia's arms and says, "Soooo big!" Well, just recently did Sophia start raising both of her arms up over her head. Then we say so big and she puts them down. Then she smiles and puts her arms up again and waits for us to say "soooo big!" And then she smiles and puts them down. You can tell she is quite proud of herself. This game goes back and forth between us until she decides its over, and sometimes it can last a while :)

The calm after the storm...

Jeff and I look forward to Christmas every year, especially this year because it was Sophia's first Christmas. And though we very much enjoyed the holidays with each of our families, we are glad that things are finally slowing down. Sophia is finally beginning to get back on schedule with nap times and bed time, which is so nice. And Jeff and I are enjoying quiet nights together which consist of watching T.V., playing games and just hanging out together. It has been so relaxing!

Mommy, Sophia and Daddy

Sophia and Daddy opening a Christmas present

Daddy and Sophia playing in her new ball pit

Aren't I a cute little present?

Sophia riding her stuffed Lion Daddy got her

Snowed In...

The last two days we have been enjoying watching the snow continue to fall and accumulate on the ground. Yesterday the snow never stopped falling! We now have around 8 inches of snow with a 1/2 inch of ice on top due to the freezing rain that came in late last night.
Yesterday we were pretty much snowed in and just hung out all day wrapping presents, listening to Christmas music and relaxing. In the evening we went over to Jeff's Aunt, Debbie's, house (one street up from ours), and had dinner and joined in on a gingerbread house decorating contest. Jeff and I came in second and got a big Hershey's chocolate kiss. First place went to Jeff's cousin, Michelle, and her boyfriend, who creatively turned a gingerbread choo-choo train into a semi-truck.
This morning we are completely snowed/iced in and will not be venturing out at all. Just trying to walk in our yard is a bit scary. But I had to go out and take some pictures just because I thought the layer of ice on all the trees was so beautiful! Here's what it looks like at our house right now...

Santa's Little Helper...

While enjoying a relaxing day at home with Sophia, I thought I would take advantage of the down time and snap a few photos. She makes my job quite easy, because she loves the camera!

An Extra Day of Rest and Relaxation...

Due to the weather yesterday, Jeff and I were able to have the day off together with Sophia. We slept in, had breakfast, and played in the snow. Well, not so much played in the snow, more like stood with Sophia in the snow and waited to see her reaction. lol. We couldn't really tell if she liked it or not, she was kind of giving us mixed reactions. However, we did capture some pretty cute pics of her in the snow all crammed in to her fluffy snowsuit that Grandma Boss got for her. She looked just like a little pink marshmallow.
Later on in the day we made and decorated sugar cookies. Oh, and ended up eating a few as well:) Yum, Yum! Then after putting Sophia to bed, Jeff and I went upstairs to watch "The Christmas Shoes". What a sweet and touching story! You all have probably heard the song on the radio, but if you haven't seen the movie, I encourage you to do so. It will melt your heart! Jeff and I sat there watching it, tears running down our faces, so touched by this emotional story of this little boy's mom that has cancer and he wants to buy her special Christmas shoes.
What a perfect December day! I know the snow can be dangerous with driving and all, but I was thankful, because it gave us an extra day off to just enjoy our family and do some fun things together.

Mommy and Sophia

Our Little Pink Marshmallow

Daddy and Sophia

Growing Curiosity...

We finally got our tree up and decorated with all the lights and various ornaments. When Sophia saw it for the first time, her eyes were as big as sand dollars! She couldn't believe this big, bright, sparkly, thing in front of her. At first she was a bit hesitant on wanting to touch it, but after me and Jeff showed her it was okay to touch, she very cautiously put her little pointer finger out and touched it, then looked back at us and smiled.
We put our Christmas tree in Sophia's gated play area, so that she wouldn't pull the tree over on her or eat any of the ornaments. So instead of being gated in, she's being kept out of the area and away from the tree. However, she wasn't going to let that stop her from her own curiosity. This is the moment I captured as she reached through the gate to try to touch a bright red shiny ball on the tree.

Growth Update...

Sophia is now 10 months old! Can you believe it? She went in for her wellness check up today and was weighed and measured. She weighs 21 lbs. and is almost 29 inches long. She is quite the busy little bee lately and has kept Jeff and I on our toes. She is crawling faster than we can chase her and is also pulling herself up to a standing position on our coffee table, her crib,in the tub (kind of scary) and on our furniture.
She continues to enjoy her pureed baby food, but is now also enjoying slices of banana and baby mum-mums (rice crackers). If she sees me eating a banana she starts to wave her hands and squeal because she wants some too! She has no desire to drink juice, but quite enjoys water in her sippy cup or out of a cup with our help.
She is now cutting her six tooth, which has resulted in some fussiness and lack of sleep on both our parts. It seems as if with each tooth the tenderness and pain increases for Sophia. She is still a little chewing machine and loves to chew on me and Jeff's fingers. However, sometimes, I don't think she realizes how strong her bite really is.
She loves to play peek-a-boo in her high chair after lunch. It's so cute because she will actually hold the wash cloth in front of her face and pull it down, as if to say "peek-a-boo". She is also learning the meaning of "no" and will stop and look at us if we say it.
I'm sure there is more, but I must save some bragging for another time, lol. Just wanted to update you guys on how Sophia is developing:)

Music to my ears...

The other night Jeff set Sophia on his lap and was playing the piano with her. He was holding her hands showing her how to make the different keys make different sounds. It was so precious, I had to capture it on my camera. She squeeled and loved the different sounds. She has always been captivated by music, but especially enjoyed being the one to make the music. It was really funny, too, because at one point Jeff put her down and started to close the top of the piano because he thought she was finished. Well, she wasn't and started waving her arms up and down like she wanted back up on his lap. So he picked her back up and continued playing on the piano with her. She was having so much fun, she didn't want to stop!

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas...

This past weekend we started decorating our house for Christmas. We pulled out all our bins of Christmas stuff and started sorting it all out. Sophia saw all the sparkly-glittery stuff and wanted to touch it all! I was wrapping some ribbon around the garland on our stairs and couldn't help but wrap it around Sophia too! Here's what she looked like. I'm not sure sure if she knew what to think!?

Ouch!

Tonight Jeff and I were eating dinner and watching "The Grinch" on tv while Sophia was walking around us with the assistance of her little push toy. She has been progressing quite a bit, and can now walk with it by herself quite comfortably. However, tonight, she got a little too comfortable and put more weight on one side of the toy than the other and toppled over, resulting in quite a few tears and a bump on her cheek. Though she recovered quickly and was back up walking with her push toy five minutes later, I, however, did not. It killed me to see her hurt, and I am not looking forward to any more bumps along the way. Though I do understand it is pretty much inevitable:(