Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Or as Sophie says "Happy St. PATWICKS Day!" If daddy was here we would make corned beef and cabbage since he loves it. But instead maybe we'll have green pancakes for dinner! ;)

Is it Spring yet?

After a hard winter we have been looking forward to Spring but unfortunately it is not here yet. We did have one nice day where I quickly decided we would head to the park. Sophie had a great time and I can tell that she can't wait for more sunny days so we can do it again. We have also been doing swimming lessons again this month. Soph is doing so much better at floating on her back and of course she loves going down the slide and asks to do it "again, again!"

Road Trip

Over President's Day Weekend we went on a road trip to the west side with our friends Jessica and Taylor. Jessica was having two baby showers over there. We first headed to Jessica's inlaw's house in Vancouver, WA. We had the chance to take the girls to the Portland Children's Museum before the first baby shower and it's safe to say they LOVED it. There were so many neat exhibits that were perfect for their age group. Then after the baby shower on Saturday we headed to Cannon Beach to Jessica's parent's house. In addition to the baby shower we took the girls down to the beach but we didn't last long because it was so windy and cold (that's the Oregon Coast for ya!). We had great trip with our friends and enjoyed meeting all their extended family.

Valentine's Day

For Valentines Day we made two different batches of cookies to share. The first batch we made with our friends Jessica and Taylor. The girls ended up eating more than decorating though! Then when Grammy was here another time she and Sophie made more cookies. Soph LOVED using the rolling pin and of course eating the dough!

January Fun

Just a few pics from some fun times in January. I didn't love having to shovel a foot of snow but Sophie LOVED playing in it! She also got spoiled with her first ice cream cone when we went to Grammy and Papa's house. She enjoys riding her horse (Nelly) at their house too. :)

Swimming Lessons Part 4

This was our 4th time doing Water Babies Swimming Lessons and Sophie REALLY loved it this time. She is getting better every time we go! During this session she stood up on the platform for the first time (where the water is up to the top of her shoulders). She also enjoys jumping off the side of the pool to me. At first she was a little nervous about the slide but Daddy told us to try try again (he wants Sophie to not be afraid of things). It only took once or twice going down crying and then all of sudden she loved it! Sophie also enjoyed swimming with her BFF Taylor and also making some new friends as well. Thanks to "Grammy" for coming and watching our last lesson and taking some pictures. :)

Christmas in Portland

We had a wonderful time spending Christmas in Portland with the VanDeWalle side of our family. Sophie actually understood Christmas this year and LOVED it. We are so thankful that with modern technology Eric was able to watch Sophie open her stocking and gifts on Christmas morning. On Christmas afternoon Audri flew in from Boise and Eric's sister Sara and her family picked her up at the airport on their way over. We had a very nice Christmas dinner and then opened gifts with the extended family. Sophie really enjoyed playing with the boys and of course with her big sis. She seemed to jump right in and play with her cousins and their new toys! They came over another day before we left and she really enjoyed playing Legos with them, having them read to her, and playing the piano. We were also able to attend the annual VanDeWalle family Christmas potluck/party. It was fun for Sophie to play with some of her second and third cousins that are her age.

Thanks to Dan and Paula (Grandpa and Grandma) for having us stay for 10 days! The meals were wonderful and it was nice to have some extra help with Sophie (so mommy go go to Target!). We are now looking forward to next Christmas. It will definitely be very special to have daddy back with us.