We took Sophie aka “strawberry fairy” to Pumpkinfest in downtown Franklin on Saturday. No, she is not dressed as a chili pepper as some very astute lady thought. We met up with Wendy and Josie and Sophie’s nanny, Jamie. It was so much fun to see all the little (and big) kids all dressed up. I had 2 favorites (besides Sophie and Josie of course). One was a little boy, probably about 3, that was dressed as a skunk. It was hilarious. I’m not sure if he is the “stinky kid” in the family or what, but it was so cute! My 2nd favorite was a little girl dressed up as a giraffe. I would have taken pictures, but then I would have been the creepy lady taking pictures of someone else’s kids. So, you’ll just have to settle for some pictures of the fairies!

Now if you realize how much my brother-in-law HATES clowns, that makes the next picture that much funnier!! We took it just for him…look at how interested Josie is!

New Babydoll for Sophie...I think

For those of you who knew me when I was a little girl, you will remember that I have always been a mommy. I LOVED my baby-dolls more than anything in the world. First there was broken-leg baby (I’ll call her BLB for short). My best friend Sarah and I would fight over BLB because she had mobile joints and eyes that blinked. Ironically, she wasn’t actually mine. My mom gave her to my sister when I was born, as a consolation prize. However, Wendy was more interested in Big Footed Darcy…the barbie doll with the biggest feet ever made, and simply neglected BLB. I hated her (Darcy…not Wendy). Anyway, back to BLB, it was the moveable joints that were her downfall and the impetus for her name.

I must digress a little to paint a picture of this doll. I found her not too long ago in my parent’s basement. I was tempted to send her to Sarah after all these years, but I resisted. Anyway, she is pathetic looking. She used to have hair, but I never remember her that way. I’m not sure she was ever “mine” when she had hair. By the time I got her she only had a few rows of hair in the middle of her head left. I used to make them into pigtails that stuck straight out of her head. Really…she’s quite a sight. My sister used to carry her around by the hair so it all fell out, are you beginning to understand me a little better knowing this fact? I’m 4 years younger than my sister, that’s all I am saying.

Anyway, I’ll never forget the day. I was probably 6 years old and BLB and I were playing on my grand-parents’ screened-in porch, which was one of my absolute favorite places in the world! Anyway, we were having a great time bouncing up and down on the glider (BLB was bouncing, not me). When all of the sudden her leg came flying off. I actually think this was the 2nd time, but I can’t remember the intimate details of the first…mostly a lot of finger pointing as to who was responsible, etc. Anyway, I was DEVASTED. I don’t mean sad, run to your mom to fix it, I mean DEVASTED. I thought that was the end of BLB. Thankfully she was fixable and lived on as my favorite for many years, until…Genny Felise (oh yes, I remember her name).
Genny Felise was my 1st cabbage patch kid (CPK). I actually got her before people started pulling hair and trying to kill each other over CPKs in the stores. I LOVED Genny. She doesn’t look all that great anymore either. Then came Daniel Foster (originally Foster Corwin, but when I officially adopted him I changed his name). Daniel, ironically, was a preemie CPK. He also only had a tuft of hair in the middle of his head. My 3rd CPK was Madeline Doris (originally Doris Faye). I kept the Doris because it was my Grandmother’s name. She was a corn silk CPK. You couldn’t brush her hair now if you had to.

I loved these baby dolls so much it used to drive my sister crazy. I took them EVERYWHERE with me. I can remember one trip to my grand-parents’ specifically. I had all 3 dolls in the car ready to go and my sister started whining “does she have to take all 3?” to which my ever practical father said “Kate, just pick 1, you don’t need all 3.” OMG the insanity. Are you kidding? I have to pick 1…above the other 2…and leave the other 2 behind. Oh no…I don’t think so. You have to understand that when I was little I would lie in bed at night and think “if this house burns down, I don’t care what they say, I’m taking all 3 with me.” (Yeah, I was a strange child, I also used to play with receipt books, but that’s a story for another time). Anyway, I was completely horrified, and I’m sure pitching a pretty good fit. My mom understood my devotion and snuck the other 2 in the back for me. I mean really, pick 1??? Only a boy would even think that.

So…you have endured this story all for a few pictures of Sophie’s FIRST baby-doll. I found this cute set at Costco that came with a stroller, a baby doll, a diaper bag, a rocking bassinet, and a carseat/feeding chair. I love it, if they had this when I was little I would have been in HEAVEN. Anyway, I had to buy it for Sophie. It was supposed to be a Christmas present but I couldn’t wait. Sophie loves the stroller, but hasn’t quite figured out how to turn it around when she runs into something so she just keeps slamming it into the wall/chair/table/etc. She also isn’t quite as taken with the babydoll as I had hoped. Usually she picks it up by the head (just like Aunt Wendy), bites it (I think this might be an attempt at a kiss) and throws it on the floor. Oh well, all in good time my dear, all in good time!
 

Sophie's Newest Mode of Travel

After taking the Graco stroller “off road” a few times too many, Adam and I decided to invest in a new mode of transport for Sophie. We tried it out on a hike at Radnor Lake. It was a beautiful day and Sophie loved her new view.

Gentry's Farm

We took Sophie to Gentry’s Farm in Franklin to pick out some pumpkins. She got to see  a teepee, a log cabin, some goats, chickens, pigeons, and a rooster (her personal favorite). We also got to go on a nature walk and a hayride! It was a lot of fun!
 

Belated 1 year Photos

Okay, so she was actually almost 14 months old in these pictures, but who’s counting. That Mother of the Year keeps slipping further and further away from my reach! We had some pictures taken at our house by a friend of a girl I work with. She was awesome and the pictures turned out so cute! She was very patient with Sophie, who did great, but is 14 months old! Here are just a few of my favorites. I would highly recommend this photographer, her website is www.goldenmoments-photography.com. She is very affordable and has two small children of her own (and the patience to go with it)! Check out our beautiful girl…don’t you want to come see her??? This may take multiple posts because there are many “favorites”…let’s start with the tutu shots.
 

Sophie's first fat lip

We put Sophie to bed and I was downstairs doing the 150 things that I didn’t get done during the day while Adam was playing Guitar Hero. I heard a loud thump and ran into the bedroom to flip on Sophie’s video monitor and she was HYSTERICAL (obviously not her norm). I ran upstairs and Adam and I found her in her bed crying with blood on her face and on her favorite pink pig. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but apparently she lost her balance during the disco and landed on the crib rail mouth first. She calmed down with her chilly bear on her lip and some books. But bless her heart, she busted her lip open!

Sophie's 1st Haircut

It was time. We discussed it for a month. We considered the pros and cons. We discussed it with our friends. We slept on it. We thought about it some more. We checked with everyone to decide where to go. We prayed about it (okay, I didn’t actually waste God’s time on this). But you will all be sad to know that the redneck rattail is gone…well almost, but that’s another story.

Either way, Sophie had her first haircut. Now normally my posts are full of pictures and light on words, but I feel the need to elaborate here. I was REALLY looking forward to Sophie’s 1st haircut. I know that is ridiculous, but I LOVE to get my haircut and I thought it would be really fun to take her. I even made Adam come with us. I really did do research to try to decide the best place to take her for this momentous event. We finally decided to take her to a kids salon in Franklin. I was really excited! Her hair was looking a bit shady, hanging in her face, etc. I couldn’t wait to see how she looked after her first haircut. Well…she looks fine.

We walk into the salon. It is walk-ins only and no one was there (maybe this should have been a red flag, but I kept going). The receptionist asked if I wanted the 1st haircut package. OF COURSE…I’m the ultimate consumer, make it look like a deal and call it a package and I want it. Plus this was her FIRST haircut.
So the stylist comes up to get us and the receptionist tells her that it is Sophie’s first haircut. I wasn’t exactly expecting fireworks…but maybe a LITTLE excitement for us? Come on…she’s had a rattail for almost 14 months…this is BIG. The stylist just says “Yeah, I know” and takes us back to her station.

So here I need to digress a little. You know how some people have a calling to do what they do. I think of myself…not that I actually think I am the world’s greatest NNP, and know for a fact that I’m not. BUT I have always been obsessed with babies, I wanted to be in the medical field but hate vomit, I wanted a more flexible lifestyle than that of a physician but also wanted more autonomy/responsibility that a bedside nurse. So NNP fits me. As my favorite TV personality Jeff Lewis (from Flipping Out) says, I found a job that embraces my neurosis. Let’s look at my sister…she loves psychology, is the ultimate counselor to the world, is very entertaining and dramatic (in a theatrical way), is a great storyteller, etc…high school psychology teacher. PERFECT. On a side note, one of my co-workers has a good friend who has a daughter in Wendy’s class and she said that Wendy is EVERYONE’S favorite teacher. I believe it. Adam loves gadgets, Jason loves shooting people (JUST KIDDING). No really, my point being that you need to find what you are good at keep going. So the point of all this is that I’m pretty sure being a stylist to the children is NOT this girl’s calling and maybe she needs to keep going. This is probably not her life’s aspiration.

We sit Sophie down in the chair where the stylist throws a cape on her and Sophie (scared to death) starts crying. What would you do? Pause, do a dance, sing a song, turn on a movie? OR…do you shove a cookie in her face and start yelling “Want a cookie? Want a cookie?” Now, Sophie’s mommy knows all too well what a cookie is. Sophie sees an animal shaped brown thing being shoved in her face. She clearly DIDN’T want a cookie. Here are a couple pictures as a reward for hanging in there so far. Look at the hands gripping the side of the chair…which she is NOT seat belted into…I might add. Keep in mind that Sophie hardly EVER cries. Unless a bunch of waiters at a Mexican restaurant come over and start singing and clapping really loud, but again, another time.

The stylist then looks at me and says “What do you want me to do?” Ummm…stop and let me do more research for another place to take her? Is that an option? You are scaring me lady. Anyway, Sophie and I brave it out and say “Just clean it up.” She begins cutting. Here is the final picture of the rattail.
 
She cut her hair for about 3 minutes maybe?? The haircut was fine. It’s just that the whole experience was a little anti-climatic for me. Here is the final look. She then proceeded to pick Sophie up and carry her to the front of the store and kept asking for her card. I have no idea what she is talking about so she tells the receptionist she needs a card and puts it in a machine and gets Sophie a toy. Okay, that was pretty cute. She then takes a blurry picture of Sophie to complete the package deal and we get a little certificate and a lock of hair. So while a bit disappointed with the experience on the whole. Her hair does look pretty cute! Maybe I just shouldn’t look forward to these things so much!

Now…I need to learn how to make hair bows, that’s my next goal for my role as mommy of the year. Quit laughing…