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All Around Boy Birth Announcement

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What will Sophia be when she grows up?

I grew up a tomboy. I loved to climb trees, play sports and go fishing with my papaw. I would not be caught dead in anything pink or frilly. I wore the knees out of my jeans and all by the age of 3.

Now fast forward to 2011...Sophia is the opposite...and I LOVE it!!!! She is a mere 20 months and has to accessorize before leaving the house.

Her favorite purse is a bright pink Coach wristlet. She loves to wear her Minnie Mouse watch. She has a new found love for "pretties" in her hair. She takes at least 2 babies with her for car rides. She sometimes wraps herself in boas and ribbons.

Sophia is a girlie girl to the bone. She even had to get her finger nails painted after watching Auntie Eryn and Jen paint theirs. The best part, she demanded Uncle Ryan do it. It was PRICELESS!!!!

But...do not count out sports just yet.....she LOVES to play soccer. We signed her up for Lil' Kickers this summer and she's already a star. I know, she is my child so I'm obviously going to brag, but she is really good! There are 15 kids on her "team" and she is one of three that listens to everything Coach Gomez says, will kick the ball all the way down the field and into the goal and wins when racing. Let's hope that means she did not inherit my tortoise running abilities! Coach told me last week that while watching the US Women's team play, he told his family about Sophia and said he could see her playing on TV one day and he could brag that he was her first coach. OK, I know, enough already:)

To mix it up, we bought her a t-ball set this past weekend. I placed the ball on the tee and Soph picked up the bat and swung, hitting it about 3 feet:) The best part is I had not shown her how to hit the ball yet. A natural I tell ya:)

Wait, there's more! We can't rule out musician. Her current favorite song is "Mean" by Taylor Swift and loves to sing the chorus. We watched the video probably 15 times today and listen to it another 15. I love to watch Soph and Luke sit on the floor and play the guitar together. She gets a very serious look on her face while doing this and really pays attention.

So whether she will grow up to be a princess, musician or athlete...I am already one proud momma!

Where has July gone?

The summer months are always extremely busy for us Chicagoans:) We spend 7-8 months out of the year bundled up from head to toe thanks to the freezing cold weather....not to mention the very short, dark days. The weather was so cold, I was still wearing my Uggs in APRIL! We welcome the warm weather, longer days and the SUN! After staying in all winter, we get out of the house every possible second to make up for the lack of Vitamin D and socialization from turning into a hermit.

That being said, we have had a super busy summer. Looking back at the calendar, we have been out of town almost every weekend celebrating graduations, weddings, birthdays, family vacations and so on. I wanted to share a few photos of our summer adventures to date:)

In Milwaukee for Eryn's graduation from Marquette Law School

Adrian, MI for Ryan's Graduation from Adrian College

Marco Island trip with Grammy and Pappy

Soph spent the fourth weekend hanging out with Presley and Colton...she loves them so much!

The rest of Sophia's summer will be filled with playdates with wonderful friends, swimming at grandma and grandpa's, hanging out on the lake at Grandma T's cottage, Heading back to Marco Island and much more:) Stay tuned....

God Bless America

While stuck in Atlanta on our way back from our family vacation, a crowd of people gathered at the window, looking out at a plane that just arrived. As I walked closer and noticed why my dad had taken his hat off, I quickly walked away while fighting back tears. My dad removed his hat to pay his respects to the fallen soldier, draped with the American flag and accompanied by an officer as the casket was taken off of the plane. I held Sophia tight as I began to wonder if this soldier had kids and a spouse he/she has left behind, parents, friends and so on. I began to pray for this fallen soldier, his family, all of the soldiers fighting for our freedom and all of the soldiers proudly wearing their BDU's as they waited in the airport for their flight home to see family and friends this Fourth of July weekend.

It is so easy for us to take our freedom for granted. We can walk our kids to school, take them to the park and travel around without any fears of their or our safety. All the while, there are true hero's fighting for our country, spending time away from their families to train or are actually in the heart of Iraq/Afghanistan. They do not get sick days or personal days to play hooky from work for the day. They might not get to come home to see their first child being born. They miss special birthdays and occasions. They are to busy fighting for our country and our freedom. To all of the soldiers, whether it has been 3 years, 30 years or you are still serving in the armed forces, I THANK YOU for your dedication! It is because of you that we can continue to celebrate our independence.

I think Toby Keith sums it up well in his song "American Soldier".

(American Soldier lyrics
Songwriters: Cannon, Chuck; Keith, Toby;)

I'm just trying to be a father
Raise a daughter and a son
Be a lover to their mother
Everything to everyone
Up and at 'em, bright and early
I'm all business in my suit
Yeah, I'm dressed up for success
From my head down to my boots

I don't do it for the money
There's bills that I can't pay
I don't do it for the glory
I just do it anyway
Providing for our future's my responsibility
Yeah I'm real good under pressure
Being all that I can be

And I can't call in sick on Mondays
When the weekends been too strong
I just work straight through the holidays
And sometimes all night long
You can bet that I stand ready when the wolf growls at the door
Hey, I'm solid, hey I'm steady, hey, I'm true down to the core

And I will always do my duty no matter what the price
I've counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice
Oh, and I don't want to die for you
But if dyin's asked of me
I'll bear that cross with honor
'Cause freedom don't come free

I'm an American soldier, an American
Beside my brothers and my sisters I will proudly take a stand
When Liberty's in jeopardy, I will always do what's right
I'm out here on the front line
Sleep in peace tonight
American soldier, I'm an American soldier


God Bless our armed forces and God Bless America!

Princess Sophia

We decided to take a long weekend and head to Orlando for what I called our "Introduction to Disney with a kiddo".

There was so much to do....get Sophia a personalized outfit for when she meets Minnie, another outfit for when she meets the princesses and schedule a character dining experience.....because an 18 month old will LOVE meeting the various characters and will remember it always. NOT! We will get back to that but on to the dynasty that is called Disney World. I went on-line to book our character dining experience 3 months in advance and most of them were already booked....Mickey and Minnie, Cinderella's Table..no reservations! Oh well, Winnie the Pooh and Friends were available so I booked it. Luke started downloading Winnie the Pooh videos just so Soph would know the characters. It worked because she pointed at them from across the room, smiling and waving. But, as each character moved closer and closer to our table, the face of fear began to take place of the cute smile...until we met Tigger.

Soph wanted to like him so much, even smiling at him with his playful antics....that was until he went to kiss her. She gave him the full Heisman pose and bopped him on the nose. It was pretty cute! We had the same experience with Mickey and Minnie...waving at them from afar but when it came our turn to meet them, tears and hiding of the face. Things were looking more promising when we went to meet the Princesses. Soph was smiling at Cinderella as she was talking to her and signing her book. I thought it was a good idea to sit Soph beside her for a picture....WRONG:)

So after an afternoon of walking around in the rain, I had the pleasure of sitting in on all the pictures with the characters. I'm not going to lie, I love Cinderella, Belle and Aurora and wish I would have dressed better and maybe combed my hair:) All kidding aside, Soph loved the parades, the 3-D Mickey movie, It's a Small World and the Pooh ride. Intro to Disney was a success!

Happy Mother's Day

Growing up, Mother's Day was all about homemade cards and gifts, heading to church with the entire family (extended family included) and lunch at granny's house. It has always been a special day to celebrate my momma and granny and thank them for all that they have done for us. Now that I am a mom, I realize how extra special this day is. It isn't a day just for moms, it's a day for aunts, cousins, grandmas, friends and sisters. I have learned so much from each and every woman in my life on how to be a good mom. Each one has shaped and molded me into who I am today and I am so grateful for the life lessons I have learned along the way. No one has made a bigger impact than my own mom. Over the years, she has worn many hats....nurse, cheerleader, ATM, teacher, personal chef, wife, sister, taxi driver, maid...but best of all my hero. She has taught me the true meaning of unconditional love and the importance of family! If you ask her the mother's day she remembers the most, without hesitation, she will tell you Mother's Day 2003. Why you ask....her baby....ME....decided it would be a great time to tell her I am moving to Chicago. That's right, I told her on Mother's Day. Poor tactical decision on my part considering it broke her heart to a million pieces. She tried everything to get me to change my mind but in the end, she supported my decision. She helped me pack up and move into my new apartment in Chicago and before leaving, she and dad made sure I had enough food, cash and of course, mace. She always taught me to be independent and to follow my dreams and that I did. If it weren't for that bold move, I would not have met the love of my life and we would not have our beautiful baby girl. Thank you mom for believing in me all of these years and showing me how to be wonderful mom and wife. I am truly blessed to have you as a role model.

Speaking of Luke, I am so fortunate that he comes from such a loving family who have opened their hearts and made room for me. Being so far away from Kentucky is hard at times, but they treat me like one of their own. Mom K is another role model that I'm so blessed to have in my life. Her cup runneth over with love and encouragement for all of her kids and has helped me tremendously over the last couple of years!

This Mother's Day, Luke and Sophia spoiled me but the best present was a big hug and kiss from a smiling, happy, healthy little girl! I thank God each and every day for the blessings he as given me. I now know what it feels like to love someone so much that your every life decision revolves around them. That little girl melts my heart with her big brown eyes and smile...no wonder it's Sophia's way or the highway:)

This Mother's Day, I thank each and every one of you who have made a difference in my life! I hope you enjoy this day and everyday, as Mother's Day really is every day:)

April showers....

We are barely in April but our spring road trips have begun. The first week of April, we traveled to Adrian, MI to visit Ryan and watch his lacrosse game. It happened to be family week so Soph got to enjoy some games and time jumping in the bouncy house before the game started. She was the biggest fan in the stands.....cheering very loudly with her grandma for her Uncle Ryan! Soph and daddy spent a lot of time in the pool back at the hotel. Sophia loves the water and wants to swim like the big kids. It looks like we will be spending a lot of time this summer at Grandma and Grandpa's swimming!

We were back a whole day then Soph and I loaded up and traveled to Kentucky to get ready for the twins baby shower. She was a rockstar in the car. We sang very loudly and talked to pass time in the car and one little catnap from Soph. Luke flew down on Thursday to spend the weekend. The weather was 80 and gorgeous by the end of our week and we took advantage of it by playing outside. Soph also got to feed a baby calf and the momma cows at Aunt Rita and Uncle Ricky's. She loved it....a farm girl stuck in the city I guess:) Mom and I were busy each night baking and decorating the cake and cupcakes for Paula and Chris' shower. They are having twins (one of each) so the theme was Noah's Ark. I couldn't have done all the work without her help. We spent some wonderful quality time together! I'm thinking we should open up a bakery and call it Sweet Sophia Ann's and she can be my assistant:)

Sophia got to spend a lot of time at Nana's house, playing with her cousin Reese (who is 3 weeks older than her). The girls were so cute singing "Wheel's on the bus" together and "talking" on the phones to each other. They are at such a fun age!

The highlight to Sunday was dad's 60th birthday. We decided to have a cookout at Nana's house and spend some QT with everyone before we had to head out.

So far, April has allowed us to spend some wonderful time with our family and there is so much more to come! Our busy schedule includes more lacrosse games, college graduations (Eryn from Marquette Law School and Ryan from Adrian College), a trip to Disney and Memorial Day heading back to KY to meet the twins, Presley and Colton. We are looking forward to Spring and the warm weather that should follow....but this is Chicago:) 80 yesterday and 35 with a chance of snow by the weekend.....yuck!