Where did October go?

WOW! It has been far too long since I've posted any pictures! We've been busy lately and have pictures to prove it. Sophia keeps growing and discovering new things. She is very good with her hands these days, has been sleeping through the night, survived her first cold and experienced her first trick-or-treat! I'm in the middle of my last fall quarter at OSU - I can't wait to graduate (not till June though)!! Patrick just got a new job at Buckeye Nissan. We are very excited about this new opportunity! Enjoy the pictures!!!

Sophia rooting for the Buckeyes!!

Our friends Nicki & Brent Barson welcomed their son Evan into their family on October 14th! We were excited to meet Evan and compare "new parent" stories!

Bath Time!!! As you all know, I love to take bath pictures!

Look at those big, beautiful brown eyes!

We recently had our nephews, Sam and Jack, spend the night while Manda and Rob ran a 5K! We love having them stay over! We played K'nex, colored, had brownies, ice cream, popcorn and pancakes, and played Old Maid. These are a few pictures taken by Jack!

They love their "baby Sophia"!

AAAAAAAHH!

The boys and Uncle Pack trying to make Sophia laugh.

We recently celebrated Betsy's 25th Birthday!

Anna tasting the icing to make sure it would be safe for the rest of us!

Betsy & her fiance Bill

"What happened to my forehead?"

Uncle Ed

We participated in the AutismSpeaks walk with my office.

Where has the time gone?

Sophia turned 3 months old today! It's hard to believe three months have gone by already! Where did my tiny baby go? Now I have a 24" long, 12.5lb infant who wants to sit up straight, stand up and take in her surroundings! My job, as many of you know, is working with children with Autism and I am already fascinated with the development of skills and teaching skills. It is amazing to watch Sophia change on a daily basis and it is incredible to me how quickly she learns new things.
This is our first full week of our new routine and so far, so good. I am adjusting to my "new normal" and I think Sophia is too.

What a smile and such expressive eyes! This is the 3 month picture that will be in her baby book.

Sitting in her bumbo seat. The first time we tried this she looked uneasy and couldn't sit long, tonight she smiled once she got in the bumbo seat and was able to hold herself up the whole time.
She has taken a big interest in her lovey named Sophia. I held "Sophia the Giraffe" up and "Sophia the baby" just smiled and talked for a few minutes.

Erica's Wedding!

This weekend Erica married her boy Brent! She made a gorgeous bride and Brent a handsome groom. We all had a good time and can't wait to hear about the honeymoon!
(of course I never can get the pictures in the right order! - SORRY!)

Julie Johnson and Miranda Cromwell

Julie is a friend from ONU and lives in Chicago. It was very good to see her!

Natalie, Erica - the blushing bride and me
Partying the night away
Erica and Brent drove away in a Classic Car! It was so cute to see them sitting in the car through the glass.
Less than an hour to go! Erica looked gorgeous :)

My silly little girl!

Well, I started back to work today (Oct. 2). Since I started facing the fact that I would be going back to work weeks ago (lots of tears have been shed), today wasn't so bad. It also helps that I started back to school (I'm getting my Master's in Applied Behavior Analysis at OSU) last week and had to start leaving Sophia for the day and that I am very pleased with the daycare situation we have come up with. Patrick and I are splitting Tuesdays, Nan is watching her on Wednesdays and Debbie (her babysitter) has her Monday, Thursday and Friday. Sophia is adjusting, as am I, and next week will be our first full week of our new routine. Wish us luck!

All conked out! What a tired little baby! She loves to sleep in the most akward positions.

Uncle Ian actually wanted to hold her this weekend! He just reached forward to grab her out of my arms :)
Mommy and her little girl
No one ever believes us when we say Sophia does get upset and can cry (several people have heard these bone crushing screams and know what we are talking about). Even though her crying isn't always pleasant to hear, when she pops out that bottom lip it is hilarious!
WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

My Little Brother got married!

This past weekend my younger brother got married. I didn't really realize until I was walking down the aisle that MY little brother was getting married. Holy Moly! He looked so handsome and excited standing up at the front of the church waiting for his beautiful bride to walk down the isle. We are very proud of Stuart and Chelsea and are happy to add one more to the family! I think everyone had a good time, I know we did!

Patrick, Becca (my sister) and Sophia

Check this out! What an awesome picture!! The best part was when Chelsea pulled her hand away and Stuart had cake stuck in his nose!!!
The Happy Couple (who previously agreed not to shove cake in each other's face - HA!)
Aunt Chelsea & Sophia
What a beautiful bride!! She couldn't wait to get her hands on Sophia!
Becca, Mom, Me and Sophia hanging out at the reception
Two sisters hanging out at the reception

Becca (2nd born), Me!, Chelsea (the newest in-law), Stuart (3rd born) and Ian (the youngest)

My family!

Our first family picture since the day Sophia was born
Bito (my dad) dancing with Sophia
Ian & Seth holding Chelsea up for the garter "grab"

A visit at Maw's house

Tonight we went to Maw's (Nan) house for FunKy Chicken!!!! It was good to see everyone and to see the house with all of the furniture and decorations up on the walls (they recently moved in).

Sophia with her Aunt Betsy

Patrick and Manda couldn't let the little kids have all of the fun! Here they are after their experience riding "a bicycle built for two." Though they made it look easy, both insist it was not as easy as previously thought!
Sophia and Maw
Thor and Sophia

Goofing around!!!

Since I haven't posted pictures in a while, I wanted to share some pictures of our beautiful girl!

When she is in her swing (not sleeping) she is fascinated - not by toys like one would think - but by the place where the bar that holds the swing glides past the legs of the swing.

This little girl is no longer happy to be held and cuddled like the little baby she is, instead she wants to sit up or stand (all with help of course!). I decided to put her in the exersaucer to indulge her and take some pictures!

Isn't that precious!!!
"Don't mind me" she says!
Just another picture of her cute little face!
I love watching her learn new things and figure out how to work her body to her advantage. She has started to put her arms towards things she is interested in and this cute little pink butterfly toy is something she is very much interested in!
From this angle you can see that she is wearing her OSU gear for the game!
She watched the game with Lindsay and Jason while Patrick and I went on our first date since Sophia was born. We saw The Lion King at the Ohio Theatre and it was incredible! I would highly recommend seeing it!