One Year Photo Shoot

We have been wanting to capture some pictures of Sophie in an intentional way. We take lots of pictures, but they're real life day to day kind of pictures. They usually incude messy faces, stained clothes, diapers showing, toys strewn about the floor, etc. Real life with a one year old, I know! And as great as those are, we also wanted to take some beautiful pictures of Sophia free of those things. So this past Sunday we dressed her in a super cute outfit and headed to the Botanic Gardens for some picture taking.

Maybe I had my hopes up. I thought Sophie might just decide she loves grass and would happily play in it making cute sweet faces at me with no toys whatsoever. We spent most of the time struggling with lighting, keeping her occupied with nothing, and keeping her on the ground by herself. So that didn't work. You will find shoes in the mouth, lovee in hand, and many others include things like diapers, wipes, baby cell phones, you name it. The girl just wanted to sit and unpack her bag. And we let her. But at the end of the day, we got a few great shots. They may not be as down to earth as our normal pictures, but they certainly seem to capture some of Sophie's sweet personality and audacious ways. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Sophia! (part 2)

Our party was wonderful and we loved celebrating Sophia's life with all of our friends and family. But Sophia's real birthday was on a Wednesday. I just couldn't send her to school and be apart from her. That day was so special to our family. We also needed some intimate family time. So Andy and I both took off work on Wednesday and we had a special birthday celebration- just the three of us. It started with breakfast- a number 1 pancake with some raspberry maple syrup. She LOVED it! As you can see, she couldn't wait to take a picture before devouring. :)

After a little morning nap, it was off to the zoo! Andy and I didn't know quite what to expect. Would Sophia be interested in the animals? Would she even notice them? To our surprise, she did notice the animals and was somewhat interested in most of them. The bigger they were or the more they moved, the more we found her staring and at times laughing at what they would do. The gorillas, elephants, monkeys, and sea otters were her favorites!

Notice how many pictures Sophia's Bebe is in- she has become a constant companion!

a quick break for lunch- it was a gorgeous day!

very intrigued by the colorful fish and yikes! a shark!

exploring a pretend bat cave with Mama

As Sophia has gotten older and entered toddlerhood, she is less and less apt to sit and cuddle. She wants to be on the go go go a lot of the time. Daddy took advantage of the Baby Bjorn to sneak in a little love time.

We have loved our Baby Bjorn, but as Andy walked around with Sophia, we decided she's gotten a bit heavy to carry around in it. When we took it off her, she had these dark red marks on her arms where it was pinching her. So Sophia thinks she's too big for it as well, and our Baby Bjorn days are officially over!

I was really excited to go into the reptile museum of living art. I don't love reptiles and insects, or like them at all. But every time I'm there I think of the scene from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. And I thought Sophia would get a kick out of "walking" around looking into the glass and seeing the animals so close up. Turns out she did love walking and crawling all over, but never really noticed that there was anything going on on the other side of the glass. Still, she looks cute doing it, doesn't she? What a doll!



We came home and all took a great nap and enjoyed a leisurely evening together- it was a great day! Happy Birthday Sophia! We love you sweet girl; this year with you has been the best of our lives!

Happy Birthday Sophia! (part 1)

No, I can't believe it either. How did a year go by? I feel like I was just meeting her, looking into those bright eyes for the first time. In some ways, it feels like years have gone by. She is so familiar to me now. Life before having her seems foggier, harder to remember. And in other ways, I feel like it has flown by, and here she is nearly walking and talking, and I'm left breathless.

We wanted to plan a birthday party that would be here at our home, out in the sunshine, with all of our friends and family together. And that's just what happened- it was a beautiful day in so many ways. Here are some pictures:

Lord, we love you and thank you for our sweet girl. She is beautiful to us! Thank you for creating her just the way you did. Thank you for her health and vitality over the past year. Thank you for her sweet personality: her spunk and energy, her adventurous spirit, her curiosity, her easy going nature, and the trust she has in us.

We ask you for your continued blessing of health in her second year. And we plead for the health of her soul. We pray that her heart and mind would be ignited by the truth of the gospel. We pray that she will find Jesus to be beautiful, his love irresistible. We pray that seeds planted, even now, would find fertile soil so that in the coming years, belief and trust will blossom from them. This is a work only you can do, God, so we ask that you would do it, and that you would do it quickly! Continue to teach us how to bring her up in the way of salvation, with grace and love abounding. We love you God! Amen.

Twenty-eight years of faithfulness

Today is my birthday. In years past, Andy and I have made a big deal of birthdays, devoting a whole weekend to doing whatever we want. Two or three days solid of celebration! This year, however, we have children. Well, a child. And that changes everything in a really fantastic way. (Non-parents: it is no longer an option to do whatever you want for two or three days...or even two or three hours.)

I was driving to swim lessons today (our first day- so fun!) thinking about my birthday, realizing this is the best birthday I've ever had. I began to wonder why. This is not what I thought of at that moment, but this is what I've come to realize since that moment four hours ago: In a beautiful way, I have forgotten about myself. The apostle Paul called this humility. Before, I couldn't wait for my birthday to arrive. Why? It was all about me! I would make up a list of things I wanted, think through what I would like to do, what I would like to eat, where I would like to go, trying to cram as much me me me time into a weekend as I could. One weekend where I was allowed to let the whole world revolve around ME! And I loved it. And yet, at the end of the weekend, I would be met with a tiny sense of disappointment that my weekend was over. Because the reality is that I always want the world to revolve around my needs, my wants, my desires. It's sin in me that wants ME to be the center of the universe. Reality is not only that I am not the center of the universe, but that I exist to make much of the one who is the center of the universe.

So that's how it was before. Here's how it was today: I woke up and the first thing I thought was, "I need to take the BOB out of the trunk so I can change Sophia into her swimsuit back there." Up I went and out to the garage. When I walked back in, Andy was smiling and saying, "Happy Birthday!" What? Oh yeah, it is my birthday! A gift. That phrase felt like a gift. I hadn't spent weeks thinking through every detail of the day, waiting with anticipation of how my every desire would be catered to. I hadn't thought much about it at all. In fact, I had forgotten that it was my birthday. This is why they say being a parent can put you on the sanctification fast track. (That's a joke- it's still slow, but a faster slow.) For the last 9 1/2 months I have been raising a baby. It's a job different than any other job I've ever had. One of the privileges of the job is putting my daughter's needs before mine. In everything. I lay down my wants for her wants, my needs for her needs. My life for hers. Daily I practice dying to myself. I have done it so often each day that it's becoming habitual.

I know what you're thinking- "dying to myself" doesn't sound like much fun. But can I encourage you with this? Driving to swim lessons today I acknowledged that this is the best birthday I've ever had. Because my mind wasn't full to the brim with thoughts about me, I was able to see my birthday with clarity. I have been alive for twenty-eight years. Twenty-eight years to breathe and live a life free of disease or physical burden. Twenty-eight years of patience as I learn to live a life of love. Twenty-eight years of forgiveness for every weakness, every evil intention, every slip into sin. Twenty-eight years of encouragement met with feeble attempts. Twenty-eight years of provision, protection, and faithfulness from the Lord. And twenty-eight years filled with blessings: a husband, a daughter, time. Today felt like a gift. My birthday is a gift. The twenty-eight years I've had is a gift. I feel more full today than on the most elaborate birthday weekend of my past. Today I'm doing what I love. It's what I did yesterday, and what I hope to do tomorrow. And it's all because of God and His immeasurable goodness to me. Today is about Him, and I am not met with disappointment.

Hello, 2 1/2 months flew by!

So I WAS doing a really good job of keeping up with my blog...I always do things in little spurts. I find myself always wishing for the discipline of endurance.

We have been busy with lots of great things! I had every intention of posting about each of these things, but I've let time get away from me and now the task is too big to be done. So...here is a snapshot of some great happenings:

First, my mom, Sophia, and I headed north! Sophia did great on her first (and last) car ride to Iowa. Next time we're flying. Amen! We had a busy week filled with family:

Sophia was just beginning to pull herself up on all fours

 Sophia with her Poppy and most devoted watchdog

At a wedding shower for my cousin Ryan

At my Aunt Barb's house for a full family get-together #2:

We enjoyed a special night with my dad, Papa Mac

Sophie and Poppy playing with the cane

At my cousin Emily's graduation celebration:

Four generations of mothers and their daughters

Next we had Lake Weekend 2011 with some of our closest friends in Horseshoe Bay:

My mom and cousin Lindsey came up for a visit. We went to the Science and History museum and out for gelato, of course:

Oops, how did these get in here?!

In the meantime, Sophia learned how to stand up in bed and as you can see, she is proud of it!

Next came my 10 year high school reunion:

Then Andy's birthday:

Another visit down to Austin. By this time she is a pro at crawling, pulling up, standing, crawling, pulling up standing, crawling, pulling...you get the gist.

This is one of her favorite faces to make- the hidden bottom lip:

We loved getting to see all of the friends and family we've been able to over the past 2 1/2 months. We are home for good now from our travels and I am finished working for the summer, so it's swim lessons and lots of play dates from now until September!