A little scare, but everything was ok...

The other day we laid Sophie down for a nap. Like normal she wimpers for a couple minutes and then falls asleep. This day her little wimpers became more of a cry so I went to check on her and she had gotten her foot caught between the rails of her crib! She was face down and her foot was literally twisting backwards. I yelled for Jake and he tried turning her foot back through, but she was so worked up that she wouldn't relax enough for us to move it. Jake ended up breaking the rail to get her foot out and thankfully it was only a little swollen. Thank God she didn't break her ankle! Jake ran out to Menards and fixed the crib rail. Now with a little stain it will look as good as new!

Santa was a no go...

This year we thought it would be fun to dress Sophie up and go to see Santa. She looked too cute in her matching Santa dress!

At first the day started out great. She loved seeing all the babies and Christmas decorations at the mall. We arrived at Santa's throne and waited in line to see him. Sophie seemed content so we went ahead and picked out a photo package imagining the perfect little Christmas card!

It was finally our turn for Santa and if we had a timer I think she lasted 2.2 seconds on his lap! She screamed and turned red in the face, she looked as if we had sat her on hot coals!! So needless to say Santa was a no go...better luck next year:)

Family visits for the holidays...

Jake and I were so excited when our families both decided to visit us in our new home! Jake's parents arrived 3 weeks ago and we had an early Thanksgiving celebration along with fun days playing with Sophie. The weather was still nice then so we actually took a stroll around the neighborhood for some fresh air and to burn off some of that delicious meal! I was very happy Sophie warmed right up to Gramps and Grandma Dakota(Ha!)!

My parents visited this past weekend and I couldn't wait to see them. This was the longest time we've had in between visits and we long awaited their arrival.

Something they always wanted to do was take Sophie out on the town. They dressed her up in this adorable outfit from Jake's Mom and went for a joy ride through the mall and of course for her favorite...ice cream and french fries!

Their stay went by too fast like always, but that is because we always have such a great time. We stayed up a couple nights past 2am playing the intense game Taboo!

Thanksgiving dinner was yummy and we actually just finished up the leftovers!

Up next...home for the Chirstmas!! We will be home Christmas Eve until Jan. 2! We are so excited to spend time with friends and family.

New furniture and more...

The house is really coming together! This week we received our dining room table and living room set! Today I made a trip to Hobby Lobby for a few plants and other decorating accessories. I can't tell you how much I love that store!! I have never been until we moved here and I realized I have been missing out! They have such great things at a reasonable price. I promised I would send pictures of our progress so here it is:)

Vaccinations...

One of the most controversial topics with keeping our kids healthy is vaccinations. It is overwhelming all of the information you need to digest. Is it good or bad? I have decided to vaccinate Sophie for all of her scheduled visits. The burning question now is influenza and H1N1. I am still undecided. I have read up on both and don't know that I want her vaccinated for either right now. It is just so hard to hear of children hospitalized for Swine Flu and to think that could happen to your own healthy child is horrible. I will tell you my biggest fears of these vaccinations:

*H1N1 has never been given to children before, what is the effect down the road?
*I have read about the mercury in both of these shots, supposedly safe, but I still worry long term.
*I have never gotten a flu shot and don't know that I want to start me or Sophie on them now.
*The chance of sickness as a result of the shot, is it worth it?

I have heard that Swine Flu has ran its course and should be dimensioning soon. Lets all hope and pray that this terrible disease dissipates never to return to sicken humans again.

Home is where your heart is...

We are starting to get more settled in our new home. I must say I really love it. We closed yesterday so now the house is really ours! We have been working really hard finding a place for everything and getting more organized. Jake has been quite the Handy Man. He has installed the washer/dryer, put in dimmers and my favorite...the storage shelves! I have been occupied with organizing Sophie's room, the kitchen and our closets. The next step is furniture. How exciting!?! It will be so nice when we have it all set up.

Something that I have really learned in the past year is that no matter what zip code you live in, home is where your heart is. Sophie has already lived in three different states and she is only 1 year old. This is my first time moving away from home too. So an order to put my mind at ease when I am feeling home sick, I tell myself that where ever we are that is home. I miss my family so much, but I know when we see each other again it will be as if no time has past since our last visit. So to always stay true to myself, my heart will be where ever Sophie, Jake and I may live and a piece of my heart will always be where I first called home.

Daddy's birthday...

Jake is 25(or so he thinks)! Jake's birthday was this week and he just can't grasp the fact that he is 29. So because it's his birthday I will let him believe he is turning the ripe age of 25:) I decided Sophie and I would make one of his favorite meals. As soon as he was off to work, Sophie and I headed out to the grocery store to make daddy's favorite...Ribs, sweet potatoes and cherry pie for desert! We started to work when we got home and I must say I was pretty pleased. I have never made a pie before, but it turned out pretty good. Overall, I think Daddy was happy with the outcome, delicious meal and spending time with his two favorite girls:) Happy birthday babe we love you!

What season is this???

I woke up to quite a surprise, when what to my wondering eyes should appear...SNOW!!! And not an end in sight from what I can see! Yep that's right, it is the middle of October and we already have snow. Welcome to Minot everyone! To make the best of the this snowy Fall day, we decided to try one of Nana's ideas. We brought snow inside! So much better for a number of reasons: much warmer and cozier inside, we didn't have to go through putting all the layers on, and best of all no worries of catching a cold! Here are a few pics from our not so fall day!

Minot move...take two!

I decided to be brave and try an 18 hour train ride from Chicago to Minot. I thought it would be easier than traveling by plane and the skipping the hustle and bustle of the airport sounded great! We upgraded to a sleeper car which was good, except the entire room was a table that turned into a bed. Not much room for Sophie to play. Nana and Gampy took us to Union Station and made sure we had goodies to snack on too! It was tough to leave, but I knew it was time.

We also were provided dinner on the train and made reservations for six and thought that it would be fun to get out of our room and check out the rest of the train. The problem was that we were sat with a couple that didn't have children and Sophie didn't hold back when she didn't like the meal. Chicken, carrots, broccoli all spit out and down the front of her without hesitation. Mama on the other hand was have a nervous breakdown with the Mr. and Mrs. across from us trying to enjoy their lamb chops and red wine! Not the prettiest sight! It was then I decided we would take our desert to go! We slept the majority of the night, but the noise and bumps were unfamiliar to Sophie and she woke up every hour or so trying to figure out where we were! She did so great despite the circumstances, but I must say it would have been a lot easier with another set of hands. It did make for a great memory for Sophie and I and I am sure it is one I will never forget:)

We're BACK!

As many of you know we are in the process of moving to Minot, ND. We have been there for about a month now and thought we found the perfect house. Unfortunately, after the inspection was completed we realized this house was better lost than found. Sophie and I have come home to make it easier for her. She needs more space and has missed sleeping in her crib. It has been

hard on us, but I think given the circumstances we are doing very well.

Jake and I took Sophie to the Minot Zoo for her actually birthday celebration. She loved it so much! We fed the goats and even the bears!! We make many trips to the park on base and continue to try and make this an easy transition for her.

Jake is in Minot working and looking for another house. We are in hopes of an immediate move in so we can say good-bye to TLF(temporary housing on base). Please keep us in your prayers that we find a home for our family soon.

Can't wait to see you all soon! We will be home until September 28th.

P.S. If anyone is looking for a good read the Twilight series is Amazing!!! I am on the 3rd sequel Eclipse now and they keep getting better! I highly recommend it.

See you all soon!

Sophie's 1st birthday...

Sophie's birthday was absolutely, without a doubt, an amazing party! It exceeded all of my expectations! Nana and Gampy made sure it was a birthday never to be forgotten. She even had a princess moonwalk!

We had around 60 guests and the weather was perfect!

Everyone worked so hard to put the party together. First a thank you to my Mom and Dad who provided the location as well as, well just about everything else! Dad made sure the yard was beautiful, he also borrowed table and chairs from a neighbor which was perfect! Mom, Bre and I made our way to the kitchen to make sure there was plenty of tasty treats. Eric and Jake helped set up tables, games, and made sure there was plenty of beer for the adult crowd! Jack and Chris brought the sloppies which were delicious! A thank you also to the cupcake makers, Laura, Brit, Bre and Mom they looked like they were special ordered they were so beautiful!

Also, I want to thank the Minsters for traveling down from Wisconsin and for Uncle Rod and Amy who came from Colorado. We were so happy that you could be there. All and all it was far better than I could have imagined and all for my little girl. We are truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives.