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!