P-A-R-T-Y!

THE Birthday Week has begun. We invited a small group of friends over to celebrate Sophie's birthday. Remember our big party last year?!! 200 corn stalks....

... and several days of prep later, we were ready for Sophie's Birthday Party, Year 2!!

The end to a great party? Sophie and her best friend, Connor, jumped in leaves. (Doug took 110 photos of this adorable playtime.)

Happy Birthday week, SMW!! We love to celebrate your birth.

Pumpkin Patch

The three of us took advantage of the beautiful afternoon and snuck away to another farm. October is the BEST month!! The gorgeous photos speak for themselves...

Fox Hollow Farms

I love how the entire month of October becomes filled with leaves, pumpkins, farm visits, and cozy days. It truly feels like the entire month is a big celebration of Sophie's birth!

We joined our friends, The Heidergotts, and braved the lines at Fox Hollow Farms this weekend. Ben and Sophie pet a lot of animals, rode a train, and explored this storybook farm!

(2 important items to note: 1. Ben is one of Sophie's favorite boys and 2. Sophie had to bring her blanket, appropriately named Purple, to the farm. That poor blanket was dragged in some farm-related things, and Purple probably wished it hadn't left the cozy confines of the crib.)

(Sophie may be shy and reserved at times, but when the girl wants to get behind the wheel, she'll put those personality traits aside. This is her new friend, Finn, with whom she was happy to ride along. Daddy wasn't far away, keeping tabs on these two driving around. Finn's parents happened to be Australian, so Doug was happy with Sophie's choice of chauffeur.)

Next weekend: SMW's 2nd Bday party!! Can you believe it?

Bursting at the Seams

Our little house is bursting....with stuff. Every closet, every possible storage area, every nook and cranny seems to be filled with Sophie's toys, old clothes, baby gear...and over the past 2 weeks, our little house got filled with two more major items: a piano and a train!! Both have provided such wonderful enjoyment for our family that we are overlooking how cramped our house suddenly feels!

The Piano. My mom used this piano as a little girl and so did I. Doug and I have always wanted a piano, and Sophie loves all forms of music. As my parents reshuffled furniture at their house, the piano shuffled over to Western Washington and into our living room. Both Doug and I enjoy playing, so we're so excited for this new family addition! This is a special family heirloom, and we're happy to squeeze this treasure into our house. Last night, as I was sorting laundry and getting everything ready for the next day, I heard Doug playing a beautiful, original song. Sophie was running around, dancing and twirling to the sounds of the piano. Eventually, she said "Be quiet, Daddy" because she wanted to play by herself. Love these moments :) Other noteable quotes said by Soph while playing the piano: "Here's a good song, mommy. Hear dis" and "I like dis music" and "That's a good song right here that I play so listen right now."

The Train. As an early 2nd birthday present, Doug's dad got Sophie her own train that runs on tracks! It, too, found its place in the living room! Although it can be dismantled and stored, we wouldn't dare take away this form of entertainment from Sophie! She has spent close to 30 minutes at a time driving the train around and around and around...her babies and some of the chosen stuffed animals have had a chance to ride along with her. She even figured out a way to push her babies around on the tracks while she drives "the train engine" (her words exactly!). Conductor Sophie calls out "All Aboard!" Our living room has become her 2nd playroom! But, she adores this birthday gift!

Some other shots of this girl....everything about her is bursting at the seams--her energy, her bossiness, her stubborness, her sassiness, her intelligence, her vocabulary, her compassion, her sense of humor...