Kaylee started walking today - April 19, 2011.

Kaylee has discovered that she can walk.  She started walking one week prior to her first birthday.

Here she stood up and turned around and is saying "Yeah!" with mommy and daddy.

There she is walking like a big girl.

Run run as fast as you can, you can't catch me.  I am the running Kaylee baby girl.

January 9, 2009 Sophia goes for a ride in her wagon

Today was unseasonably warm for January in the upper 50s to 60s so we took a walk. I took a few photos of Sophia but couldn't get her to look at the camera because the sun was so bright. The wind was blowing which made her ponytail stand straight up in the air.

We put Brandy on her leash and packed Sophia into her wagon with her blankets and walked around the neighborhood for about an hour. We realy enjoyed the warm breeze and the bright sunshine on our walk. Not only did the dog enjoy sniffing things and exploring everything while taking a long walk, Sophia enjoyed looking at all the things we saw along the way. She watched the kids on the playground at the school. She looked closely at the trees and grass and all the scenery along our path. I can't wait until Spring so that we can take lots of walks in her Radio Flyer wagon.

December 8, 2008 In Search of the Perfect Claus Part two getting to the North Pole

Sir, if you could, please tell me how to get to the North Pole, I would appreciate it. I need to talk with Santa Claus..........

If I crouch down really low, maybe I can see Santa Claus in there......

Hhm, let me see.....is this the right way to the North 
Pole?

Almost there, keep going..........

1

The North Pole.  Oh goody! We are here. I wonder if Santa is here making toys....

November 26, 2008 A Whole New Play World, Playing at the Mall Play Area

Scott and I took Sophia to Mid Rivers Mall to play in the play area.  She was really bored at home so I thought we could let her burn some energy at the mall. This is the first time she has been there since she began walking.  As you can see it took her no time at all to get the full effect of playing and sliding down the slide. This happened back in November but I am just getting around to blogging about it. 

November 14, 2008 More Walking and Playing

Sophia is just walking around the house and playing in her pajamas.  She looked so happy to be walking around, I thought I would take some pictures and post them for all to see.  She also sat in her Elmo chair which I snapped a picture shown here. It is a little blurry because it vibrates and laughs and it was hard to get a still photo of it.  

She also has her Saint Sophia medal on today shown in the photo that is looking up at her from the floor.   If you click on the photo it will maximize and you can see it. Sophia's name means wisdom. One of my mother's best friends gave her this very thoughtful gift for her Baptism a few months back, but I just realized we never took a photo of it so here it is.   I cried because it was such a beautiful and thoughtful gift.   I hope Saint Sophia looks after my little Sophia.  

Here is a copy of the excerpt given to Sophia along with her Saint Sophia medal:

 SAINT SOPHIA THE MOTHER OF ORPHANS

Celebrated June 2^nd

Every mother wins the “Mother of the Year” award in her own family, but if a vote were taken for the “Mother of the Thousand Years of the Byzantine Empire,” the unanimous choice would be a valiant woman named Sophia who turned a personal tragedy into a triumph of the spirit in the name of the Lord and so glorified His name in her every thought and deed that she was sainted by popular acclaim. She symbolizes motherhood in the purest sense, sanctifying the role all mothers play in the daily grind of raising a family, elevating the mothers of the world to a sacred level in the eyes of God and giving them their due recognition in the divine plan of the universe. A woman acquires a spark of divine grace in bearing a child, and thereafter in caring for it she labors not only for herself but for the property of the Almighty as well, for we are the children of God.

The Noble Sophia came into the world with every advantage, including wealth of beauty and intelligence, as well as an abiding faith in Jesus Christ, and at maturity she left nothing to be desired as a model wife. When she married, she took leave of her parents to make a home of her own with the prayer that she would be blessed with children, a prayer which was answered. She became the mother of six children, all of whom she loved deeply and none of whom lacked the religious fervor of their mother.

It was in her thirty-fourth year, when her happiness knew no bounds, that her greatest joy turned to stark tragedy. A plague swept over the land and she watched helplessly as one by one her children died; and when the pestilence had spent itself she had lost all of her loved ones, including her husband. In numbing grief she yearned to be stricken and join her family in death, but then her Christian faith asserted itself, reminding her that there was much she could do, not only for the Lord but in memory of her family. She returned to her empty house intent upon putting it to good use, and her life thereafter came to be a total commitment to the glory of the Savior.

She lost no time in seeking out the clergy of the community and announcing plans to dispense her wealth among the poor, keeping enough to maintain her house, which she hoped would shelter underprivileged or orphaned children. In a span of twenty years, Sophia’s house became a haven not only for little wanderers but for the dispossessed on any age as well. She actually adopted over one hundred children in this period, raising each of them as though it were her own child and sending them out into the world full of the love of Jesus Christ and quite prepared to make a useful place in society. She came to be known as the “Mother of Orphans,” marveled at by other mothers of the empire whose burdens were made lighter when they compared their cares and worries to those of the woman who had the strength and grace to make her life worthwhile after suffering a loss that would have overwhelmed the average mother.

Many stories of tenderness and sacrifice are attached to Sophia but the one that stands out as an example of her proximity to God is the one concerning the bottomless wine pitcher, if it can be called that. Her hospitality extended to all comers, and when adults sought refuge in her house she customarily poured them a glass of rare vintage from a Grecian urn. After she had first filled the urn, she noticed that no matter how much she dispensed for her guests, the wine was always at the same level when she went to use it again. At first she presumed that someone had surreptitiously refilled the urn when she was otherwise engaged, but she soon realized that it was a phenomenon that could not be explained. She mentioned it, however, to no one.

Reference  

http://74.125.95.104/search?q=cache:http://www.antiochian.org/1116815026

November 12, 2008 Sophia walks

Sophia walks.   She finally did it, she walked from the TV all the way around the family room all by herself and Daddy caught the moment with the camera. Scott and Sophia were hanging out playing while Mommy was at work.   Sophia just decided to get up and get moving. Here she is walking around the room trying not to trip on all the toys scattered across the floor. She looks pretty proud that she can finally walk.  She is smiling and having a grand time showing off her new skill for daddy with the camera.  

Dearest Sophia, 

Mommy is so proud of you.  I have been waiting for this moment for the past couple months and here it is. You have finally decided that you can walk.  I am sorry I was not home when you chose to do this, but I am still very proud of you and all your accomplishments.  I love you very much and look forward to all your future firsts.  You are the best little girl a mommy could have.

Love you lots,

Mommy 

Here is a slideshow of Sophia's first steps.

November 4, Day of Firsts, She Walks, Eats White Castles

Sophia and I went to the park today Election Day. The weather was beautiful and Sophia enjoyed herself at the park. She was very good today so I took her out to lunch. In honor of her late Grandmother Sally Sikes, who loved the mini burgers from White Castles, I took her for her First White Castle Burger. She ate the burger like a big girl. She took the sandwich and ate it like she has been eating burgers forever. She also said "George" while watching Curious George for the first time. 

When we finished lunch we went for a nice bike ride all around our neighborhood. It was so pretty that we just rode around until I could barely pull her up the hills anymore. My legs were burning and I finally decided to call it quits.

We came home and Sophia had a nice sippy cup full of juice and then it happened. She was standing next to me as I sat on the couch resting from our bike ride. She reached over and started shredding a box of Kleenex. Then, she turned around and took four steps holding the shredded tissues in hand, she WALKED. She forgot to hold onto something because the tissues were in her hand. Then, she grabbed onto me because she realized she was walking. Yeah Sophia! I am so proud of you.