Busy, busy!

Sorry it's been a while since I posted last. Sophia figured out how to walk (yay!), but it is keeping us VERY busy. I don't get much time on the computer these days. Here are some recent pics of the peanut.

Mmm...jelly


Cutest outfit. Ever.


She's too fast for my camera!

1 year professional pictures

Here's a LINK to a photo album I created with pictures from Sophia's 1-year photo shoot.

Here are a couple of my favorites:










These were all taken by Ben Saefke Photo

Link to first bday pics ...

Here are some pictures from the weekend. The ones with the blue shirt are from Friday, and all the others are from Saturday.

http://tinyurl.com/2ragl5

I had a breakdown on Friday night watching the slideshow that Chad put together. She's not my little baby anymore; she's a big kid now! I'm doing much better today. I'll post a recap of the party and more pics in the next day or two.

Happy Birthday, baby girl!

Our little pumpkin

We took Sophia to Minnetonka Orchards on Saturday (http://www.minnetonkaorchards.com). It was a pretty cool place. It was very busy, but spread out so that no one area had too many people. We had caramel apples and apple donuts, listened to some music, checked out the sheep and goats, and just enjoyed the beautiful weather :-)

Here is some pictures of her in the pumpkin patch :

Guess who?

Man, I am SO bad at this blog thing! I can't even manage one post per week. Sorry, folks :-)

I have an excuse this time: Sophia is really sick -- fever, puking, the works. This is the first time we've experienced a "real" sickness and it sucks! I made it into work for a few hours this morning (Sicky was at home with dad) and boy did I need to get out! I had been home, covered in puke, for 3 days. I think I used an entire bottle of laundry detergent over the weekend. She seems to be on the mend finally. *knocking on wood* She hasn't thrown up today. Yay! But we think she's getting molars now. Oy. Hopefully this will all be over soon!

One year ago today was the official start of my maternity leave. I spent the week getting all the last-minute stuff we needed before the baby was born. I hope I never forget how exciting that time was. How nervous I was for the delivery (as I should have been!) but also how completely unprepared I was for what parenthood was really like. No matter how many times someone tells you how tired you will be, you can never truly understand the exhaustion until you actually live it. When Sophia was about two weeks old, I feel asleep mid-sentence. And I was the one talking! No class or book can prepare you for that.

Last week, Sophia took 6 steps in a row a few different times. She's clearly saying baby "ba-ba" and ball "bah" and points to both when we ask where they are. I cannot believe she will be one next week! I have to order her birthday cake this week and reschedule her 1-year pics (we had to cancel on Saturday due to the puking).

I have some new pics and hope to post them soon!

Sophia, The First Year

I created a book documenting Sophia's first year.

Here's a link to check it out:
http://tinyurl.com/2gf3wq

Time flies

So, once again, it's been a while since I posted. I'm working three mornings a week now, and trying to start this invite/announcement biz, which is keeping me busy. I'm also in the process of planning Sophia's 1st bday party. I can NOT believe she is going to be one already. She was 11 months old yesterday. She is getting close to taking her first steps (she took a half step on Sunday). She's standing all the time now, sometimes for up to 30 or 40 seconds at a time. I'll try to get a picture. Here are a few new pics of the princess.

From Brady's 1st bday party. These are a couple of my very best friends from high school and their kids -- all the babies were born in 2006. There were 5 of us all pregnant at the same time. Must have been something in the water. I love how Sophia and Morgan are both looking at the birthday boy ... or are they checking out his chocolate cake?? :





Here's a picture from my mom's bday party last weekend. Notice how everyone is looking at Nelly, the wonder pup--she just had to be in the picture:

Rock Star!

My latest birth announcement creation. I LOVE it! It's definitely going on my website.

MN State Fair and more ...

Sorry I haven't posted anything in such a long time. Things have been busy around here. Lots of new things happened in the past two weeks. Here are a bunch of new pictures.

On the bus on the way to Sophia's first MN State Fair (if you don't count last year, when we went and she was in utero!):


Enjoying her first pronto pup:


On the carousel with Daddy. She was not impressed:


Checking out a baby horse at the Miracle of Birth center:


Playing at the Maple Maze in the Maple Grove Community Center:




What happens when Sophia decides to not take a nap (something she's been doing more and more lately):




Having some ice cream at her first trip to the Mall of America:


Fascinated with the rides at the Park at MOA:


Showing off all of her new teeth (8 total!):

Prayers...

Please pray for Emilie.

She has a little boy just 2 months older than Sophia. I read her blog religiously through my pregnancy (still do!) and I have felt more prepared for each step along the way, both in pregnancy and mommyhood, after reading what she went through just a few short weeks before me. (lemmondrops.blogspot.com)

She is a wonderful person with a 1-year-old son and another baby on the way, and she is going through something awful right now. My heart is breaking for her and her family. I can't even begin to imagine...

10 months old

Sophia was 10 months old last Sunday (8/19). I can't believe she is going to be one in less than two months!

Here are a couple pictures from her photo shoot today.
These are the three we ordered:







And the link to see the rest of them:
http://mystudio.kiddiekandids.com/viewshare.asp?c=5910037794CPSP9UU

She did great! She loves to have her picture taken.

We're taking her to the Fair for the first time on Sunday. We went last year, when I was 7.5 months pregnant, so this year should be a lot more fun. Chad is already making a list of all the food she can have.
Here's what we're thinking so far:
•ice cream
•fries
•watermelon
•mini donuts
•cinnie-minis
•cheese on a stick

Any know of anything else that would be appropriate? Especially anything a bit more nutritious? I don't want the poor girl to get a tummy ache. Please let me know if you do!

Please post a comment and let me know if you read this blog. I don't get many comments and am curious if people are actually checking this out or not. Thanks!

Invites & Announcements

In my never-ending quest to bring in some extra money, I've started designing photos invites, announcements, and thank you cards for people. I will be charging an up-front design fee (about $35-$50) and printing will be up to the individual. I have been uploading them to photo websites to print out 4"x6" photos. I printed Sophia's v-day cards through walgreens.com. Please pass this on to anyone who might be interested!

I'm still working on my website, but here are a few examples of what I have done so far:













Updated: I put some samples on a page of my website: www.kamholzdesign.com/invites

Yes, Deer!

For those who don't know, we live in uber-suberbia. Just minutes away from one of the largest concentrations of stores and restaurants in the state. Last year, we bought our new house that I absolutely love! While the house is great, the backyard is truly amazing, and what ultimately sealed the deal for us. Case in point, the view from our master bedroom this morning (look closely right in the center of the picture):
[UPDATED: I circled the deer in this one. It is in roughly the same spot in the other pics]





And the view from the guest room:



This deer has been sleeping just on the other side of our fence. It sat up when I opened the window and looked right at the house. After a few minutes, she got sick of my picture taking and decided it was time to move along.



At 7:15 this morning, Chad, Sophia, and I were sitting on the bed in our guest room fascinated with the nature in our own backyard. It was a very cool moment, and just another reason why I love this house!

Some firsts...

It's been a while since I posted. I've been spending a lot of time watching the news after the 35W bridge tragedy and haven't been online much. But, I'm back now, and so much has been going on with us!

We took Sophia to her first Twins game on July 31 (the day before the bridge collapse). She didn't understand what everyone was clapping for, and she would always start clapping just as the crowd was finishing. But she had a blast! Here are some pictures:









Also, she finally got her first tooth on the top and the second top tooth is close. Still just three on the bottom though, and no sign of number four. She's always been one to do things her own way :-) (UPDATED: the second tooth on top is through!)

She's standing by herself for a few seconds every once in a while. Now that she is finally crawling, and is getting very good at it, she doesn't have as much interest in standing. I think it's going to be a while before she takes her first steps.

We have also been working on some basic sign language with Sophia and think she's finally catching on. A couple of times, before a meal, I've asked her if she wanted to eat and signed "eat" to her, and she has signed back! She has also done the sign for "more" a few times, always after I did it first. We're also working on "drink" "please" and "sleep." Once she gets the hang of these, I'm going to have to learn some more signs!

And, perhaps the most exciting first for us, is that we think she is working on saying her first word! She's been saying "mama" and "dada" for a while, but I'm still not sure if she really knows what they mean. But, the other day, we were playing with the dog and I said, "Nelly, Nelly, Nelly." Sophia looked at me, looked at Nelly, and said, "neh, neh, neh." We went back and forth like this quite a few times, and it really seems like she knows who Nelly is and that "neh" is her way of saying Nelly. Then, on Thursday, we were at the vet picking up Nelly from getting a bath and there were about four other dogs in the waiting room. Sophia kept pointing at the other dogs and saying "neh." Nelly=dog to my brilliant almost-10-month old :-)

Picture Post

It's been a while since I posted pics, so here are a bunch from this past weekend. (Thanks, Auntie Jill, for the beautiful dress! It was perfect for the luau party!). These are from Sophia's cousin Abbey's 5th bday party. Sophia wanted to do all the things the big kids were doing and crawled into the circle to "help" Abbey open her gifts. Also, Sophia climbed some steps for the first time! They have two steps from the family room to the kitchen, and she went right up them, across the kitchen floor, and into the front room where all the kids were. Guess I better get that gate put up at the bottom of the stairs.







playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey:






opening presents:








being silly with Papa: