One-derful

One year ago today, "Slash" became Sophie.

There are no words to describe the love, adoration, and gratitude that Doug and I have for Sophie. We love her spunk and sassiness. We marvel at her learning and growth. And, we laugh at her energy, her silliness, and her wild facial expressions!

Sophie, your daddy and I wonder what we did to deserve you in our lives. You have brought us absolute joy during every one of your 365 days. Being your parent is the most rewarding and important job that we have, and we promise to keep doing our best to raise a confident, intelligent, strong, and happy little girl. Happy Birthday, sweetheart!

Let the Celebrations Begin!

This corn on the cob was a sign of things to come....

This Saturday, we threw a harvest party celebration to honor the birth of our sweet, little girl. We were blessed to have so many wonderful friends and their children attend (30 adults plus babies/toddlers). In true-Doug fashion, he went all out to convert our tired carport into an outdoor party space that even designers from HGTV would envy!

"It's my party weekend!! YEAH!!!!"

These were the corn stalks from the first of two trips that Doug made out to Snohomish ...all his hard work and creative vision transformed our carport into this outdoor entertaining space:

The new room was amazing. Doug spent nearly 1 full day and used 150 corn stalks (still with corn on them!), outdoor heaters, orange lights and Halloween decorations to create this incredible space. He BBQed sausages, I prepared a spread of savory and sweet treats, and we stocked up on beer/wine. Friends were able to mingle inside and outside throughout the night. It was the perfect way to celebrate the best year of our life!

Daddy and his nearly 1-year old before the party started..

...and then scenes from the party....(unfortunately we didn't get photos of everyone and we didn't capture the madness downstairs in the playroom with all the kids!):

I love this photo of the three of us. Sophie was NOT happy during the cake-eating and birthday-singing portion of the night. She was a bit overwhelmed by all of the people and the melted frosting on the cupcake.

Once all the guests left, Doug and I retreated back to our outdoor room to toast ourselves and reflect on the blessings of the last year. We even video taped a short message to Sophie.

The following day, we returned to the "Corn Cafe" for an afternoon snack. Doug went above and beyond with the decor and Sophie deserves every bit of it!

(This final shot shows Sophie assessing the damage to the beer collection after her party...)

What attitude!

"BOO"

Sophie says "Boooo" to anything Halloween-related--orange pumpkins, ghost and witch decorations, gourds. So, when we trekked to an amazing farm this weekend, Sophie called out "booo" to everything! Since she is still a crawler (with 1 week to go before she hits her first bday!), she crawled in the mud from "booo" to "booo" (from pumpkin to pumpkin). She was dirty but so enthralled by the pumpkins, the other children running around, and the big tractors. Doug and I ate roasted corn on the cob, took one million photographs of our adorable daughter, and enjoyed the crisp, fall air. Here are just some of the photos that capture our 1st trip to a pumpkin patch!









Update: Since visiting the farm, Sophie has begun to say "boo-kin" when she sees a pumpkin. It's closer...