Been a long time...part 2

So, Easter was a lot of fun and now we are preparing for her first birthday party. I have actually been planning some aspect of it since February. Yes, I'm one of those mommies.

April 18th we traveled to see the leftover bluebonnets. I knew I had waited too long here in south Texas. Most of them had gone to seed already, but every little Texas child has to have bluebonnet pictures. So, dear hubby was kind enough to go with me and baby girl. We drove 25 miles east to a rest stop between Sabinal and D'Hanis. There were a few bb's left! But as you'll see in the pics, a lot of seeds too!

"I'm popeye the sailor man..."

My favorite. I wear this one on my badge at work and had an 8x10 made.

That same day, I attempted my first homemade tutu. I have a cute skirt for her we got at Children's Place, but I had been seeing these tutu's for little girls. I figured I could make one of those. Found some easy directions on the internet and put it together in a couple of hours. I have since added some white ribbon for some more pop. We will either use black leggings or a while diaper cover which I'm having embroidered. Pics to come from the b-day party.

In sad news, we have had to find other day care for baby girl. Our fabulous lady, Mrs. Matthews, has had a really hard time finding help that will be good and consistent. So, she decided to close out her infant room (under 18 mos) and just keep the toddlers. We are so very sad. There was no better place she could have been when I went back to work. I am sure she will get great care at the Methodist church, but it won't be as homey as Ms. Matthews. Our first day will be when we get back from the big birthday party at mom's/dad's.

So, that brings us to our little gathering. I have no idea how to plan a party, so hopefully no one will be expecting too much! Pics to come!!

First Halloween

Here are some pictures of our first Halloween with Sophia!

Getting ready to go to the South Texas Maize just outside of Hondo, TX. There were many more things for kids to do when they are older than Sophia, but we got some good pictures out of it!

Great "cowch" for photo opps! :)

She's wearing a John Deere bib, but I don't think that was a John Deere tractor!

Our next stop was to Matthews' Learning Center where Sophia goes during the week. Carolyn had set up a wonderful place for fall pictures out front!

Playing with our friend Amelia.

Cutest little ladybug...EVER! :)

Getting in some fun time with Mrs. Matthews


The last stop of the night was to our church where they had a Fall Festival. They had lots of stuff for the older kids too, but here was a photo opportunity that was set up. They were taking and printing pictures for visitors for FREE!

Ready to ride off into the sunset....

First Week Back

We did it! We survived our first week apart and my first week at work. It was a really great week. I'm surprised I said that. I did miss her terribly, but there were 2 things that made it good. #1 - she is in such wonderful care! Mrs. Matthews takes great care of her and the other kids she watches. She is really good about taking pictures when they are doing something neat. If you check out her website, you will see all the wonderful pictures she takes of the kids doing fun things.

This is my absolute FAVORITE picture right now.
I have this as my screen background at work and at home!

She is such a happy baby!

We also had a barbecue this past Saturday and Sophia got
her first experience in the water (besides bath time!).
We got the smallest swim diaper, which is still 4 lbs
too big for her, but it worked well.

This is most of the group and some extras like family members.
Really great group of people and everyone loves Mrs. Matthews like we do.

And reason #2 is that I have a really supportive group of people at work. They are super accommodating for me. I am able to go over to Mrs. Matthews' at lunch to nurse Sophia. This way she only gets 2 bottles/day. My boss made sure I had enough time, telling me to adjust my schedule as needed. She knows how important this is to me, and my happiness at work is also beneficial to them. I'm also able to close my office door and pump twice a day. Again, she told me to adjust my schedule as needed. I am really fortunate that I have a wonderful job with a great boss. I know this is not the norm, so I'm going to enjoy it every chance I get! And I tell my co-workers that they have it really good here in Uvalde!

Speaking of work, it has begun to pick up. I've got mostly pediatric patients that come in for outpatient therapy. This has been an adjustment coming from Spohn Shoreline, both in sheer size/# of patients and in the age of the patients. I've always been a little nervous with kids, but since having Sophia, that's changed a bit. Don't know what it is, but I feel more confident and I enjoy the kids more. Hopefully that will continue!

And in other news, Sophia has started smiling and cooing much more! Tonight we "talked" for about 30 minutes in one session and 15 in another. She's so much fun! We got a new overhead
gym like she has at her "home care". She really seems to like the singing bear whose nose lights!

I really love this look!

Happy girl!

And, finally, I'm making my pilgrimage to Waco to get the best peaches in the world. I don't know how long we've been getting peaches at Cooper Farms, but it's been a while! I sure do love the east Texas Freestones! And I may need some plums, tomatoes, purple hull peas.... :) I hope there's enough for me when I get there! Gotta freeze 'em for the winter. This is my reward for starting Weight Watchers.....AGAIN! I don't know why I torture myself by starting this in the summer when it's too hot to be outside for physical activity. I sure do miss the pool. Anyway, if I don't mention how WW is going...don't ask :) haha.

Thanks for keeping up with us!