Sophie's 1st Haircut

On Friday, we met my parents in the valley and Sophie got her hair cut for the first time at 32 months old (2 years and 8 months). It was definitely overdue.

Before

The first snip

So patient

Finishing touches...including glitter! (Way too much glitter...it's still there and won't wash out!)

Sophie making a silly face...she likes it!

Overall, I like it, too. It's taking some adjustment, but it's pretty darn cute. She was so patient and relaxed the whole time. She's such a big girl now!

Ode to Beth

My friend Beth likes to remind me that I once had a blog and that once upon a time I actually posted pictures and stuff. There have been many reasons that blogging has not been a priority lately, but I am willing to write one now, especially for Beth.

You see, my dear Beth is moving. Away. On Saturday. And to be honest, I'm not handling it very well. I have a history of not dealing well with friends moving away. Just ask Lauren; she'll tell you. It's ugly. And to make it worse, Beth is one of my last remaining friends in this little area of St. Louis where I live, and that makes this really hard.

I know you're probably thinking she's moving across the country by the way I'm talking, but she's not. She's not even moving across the state. Just across town. And I know that this move isn't the end of our friendship or anything, it's just not going to be the same. But I'm not going to ramble on about all of the reasons I will miss her and hate to see her go. Instead, I'm going to list just a few of my favorite things about this lovely lady**:

1. She has been my trusty running buddy for over 7 years now, AND she will wake up insanely early so that we can run together before I head off to work.

2. I can call on a whim to see if she wants to _____ (Fill in the blank with things like: go to the park, meet at the zoo, come over so our kids can play, etc.)

3. She always has cute hair and necklaces.

4. She will go grocery shopping with me on Thursdays when we can save $10 at Sappington Farmer's Market.

5. She listens intently, doesn't judge, and offers words of wisdom and Truth into my crazy life.

6. She prays for me and my family. I cherish that.

7. I love watching her mother her children. She is a patient, loving, F*U*N, gentle mom. I have learned so much from her.

8. She loves my daughter (and will help us out in a pinch if we need a sitter for a day).

9. She's not afraid to eat pie for breakfast.

10. She is one of the most honest, genuine, authentic followers of Christ that I know. I admire her faithfulness.

I know that our friendship is one that will last until we're old and wrinkly, but there's just something about being neighbors and doing life together.

I have loved our time together in South City, Beth. Thank you for your friendship. I will miss living so close to you and your sweet, sweet family.

**Please note that this list is not all-encompassing. I could go on, of course. There's no end to the awesome-ness that is Beth.

Not funny, but exciting.

Also, I am very excited about this.

Funny

So, you know those Sonic comercials with the husband and wife in the mini-van? The "wife" in those commericals is the comedian/actor/writer, Molly Erdman and she has a hilarious "blog" about a fictional couple who live in the pages of fancy home decor catalogs. You should check it out. You will laugh. A lot.

Catching Up

I know, I know. It's been almost 2 months since my last post and now I have 2 in one night. I'm just crazy & unpredictable like that...or maybe I'm just not meant to be a blogger. You pick.
Anyway, I'll try to catch you all up to speed. We've had a trip to Wisconsin and a cute little girl who turned TWO between then and now, so there's lots of pictures of both events!

Until I gather the photos and get things in order, here are a few of my favorite pics from the end of summer to tide you over.

"By the door"

Lately I've been trying to be better about having Sophie help out around the house so that the idea of chores isn't a foreign concept to her down the road. So tonight, as I was getting her ready for bed tonight, I took off her shoes and asked her to put them by the door. I assumed that she was familiar enough with watching us take off our shoes and put them on the mat we have placed "by the door." When she didn't come back with her shoes, I figured she completed the job. After I put her to bed and came back out to the living room, this is what I found:


Now that's what I call putting your shoes "by the door"! Hilarious.

Lovin' the Hand-Me-Downs!

My grandmother passed away a little over a year ago, before she had a chance to meet Sophie, who was only a few months old at the time. She had a large jewelry collection, and I saved some for Sophie to have for playing dress-up when she was older. I thought it would be a nice way to keep her memory alive in our home and something for Sophie to know is from her great-grandmother.

Sophie has had a thing for beaded necklaces (the Mardi-Gras kind) ever since her sitter gave her one back in January. I haven't been wearing much jewelry this summer, but this morning I put on a necklace (not the Mardi-Gras kind). Sophie noticed immediately and wanted to wear it, so I decided it was time to get out Great-Grandma Trettel's jewelry. It was a HUGE hit!


Yesterday, my co-worker and friend, Gary, gave us this really cool stove play set with some pots & pans to go with it. His twin boys are seven and are to "cool" for a toy kitchen. I have been wanting a kitchen set for Sophie, but we don't have a lot of space for one. This one is perfect because it's small and fits perfectly into a little corner in our dining room. Here is Sophie riding her scooter bike from Oskar & Poppy, wearing her necklace from great-grandma Trettel, while cooking on her new stove from Gary's boys. (And, yes, I eventually got her dressed for the day.)