14 months

Wowsers, sorry for the long hiatus! For a good while we didn't have the internet, but now thank goodness it's back! SO, now to play catch up. A lot has happened since I've been away!

First of all, Sophia had her first birthday! I wasn't anything that I had planned, but it ended up being okay and she had a good day. We unfortunately couldn't make it down to Florida, since Nate just got a new second job at another restaurant and he was training. She looked adorable in her birthday dress though, and since he was training the entire week before her birthday, AND working the other job, we went shopping for her presents...on her birthday. I don't think she minded though! She didn't really know what to think about ripping open the presents. That really surprised us, since she loves ripping up paper that we'd rather her not touch, ha. We got her a corn popper and some alphabet magnets. She really enjoyed both of them!

Then there was cake. I had plans of making her a cake from scratch, and then those plans turned into, "well maybe just from a box" since I needed pretty much all the ingredients and we were really broke, and then we were out so late trying to get her presents and whatnot that it turned into buying a red velvet cake from the bakery. It was good, but I was a little upset that I didn't get to bake her first cake. Oh well, there's next year. And then we'll know more people too hopefully, so we could maybe for real have a party. Anyway, she was a definite fan of the cake! Oh! And on her birthday she magically started walking. Before that she would take some steps alone, but not full blown walking. From that day forward though, she's been a pure walker. I guess she took toddler-hood very seriously!

I suppose the next big day was Christmas. We were still pretty broke, but we were able to scrounge up some money for a few presents. I ended up making Nate's though. For Sophia we got her some mega blocks, a glitter bouncy ball, some glow in the dark stars for her wall, and some number magnets to go with her alphabet ones. Nate got me a pair of brown riding boots that I love love love. I've been wanting a pair for a few years, and we found an outlet store that had a pair in my size that were way marked down, so I'm really excited for those. I've worn them almost everytime we've gone somewhere. For him, I made him a rice heating pad for his neck/shoulders and an embroidered handkerchief with the lyrics to our wedding song on them. That took forever and ever to make, but it looks nice at least! And he's used the heating pad plenty too, especially after serving.

So then, the new year started. My mom, sister Cheyne, and her baby/my niece Jade all came up to visit us for a few days. That was fun! I really missed them, and was sad to see them go. Sophia remembered them, especially my mom, and fell asleep on her every night. It was so sweet! I could tell Mom was eating it up. And Sophia was soooo fascinated with Jade! They're about the same size, even though Sophia is about five and a half months older. She thought it was pretty neat having someone her size though! It was so sweet, she kept stroking her head and being really gentle with her (for the most part). We went to toys-r-us for the first time with them and Sophia had a ball. I'm attempting to convince them to move up here, since they don't want to live in Florida anyway. They're actually thinking about it! Their lease isn't up until I think October (maybe November) though.

So, the week they were here, Nate quit his second job, which I'm kind of glad, since he absolutely hated working there, and it was barely anything extra with way more hours. So, he decided to try his hand at selling cars, since here we've heard there's some good money in it. So he updated his resume and I helped him snazz it up (looks pretty good, I must say), and he sent it out to a few that were hiring. Not long after, he got a call back from one of the dealerships. He got an interview, and the job! He just started there on Monday (today is his third day), since he had to work out his two weeks at the other restaurant. So far he really likes it! Which makes me so happy, since above all I want him to enjoy the work he does. If he does that, then everything else will somehow fall into place.

Oh! And we've had snow fall, enough to cover the ground, twice! It was fun to play in! I really does look like the beach, but colder. Sophia seemed to like it though! We were surprised it snowed, since we heard that it usually doesn't here, maybe once every five years, and not enough to cover the ground. It's been a really harsh winter though. I feel like I acclimated to the new weather though pretty well, this coming from someone who's always cold!

Valentine's Day was pretty low key here. Nate bought me a thing of candy, which was perfect for me. I love chocolate, too much! Sophia does too!

Sophia has been just growing and learning by leaps and bounds. She's not much of a talker still (well, of the English language), but she will occasionally kinda say "mommy," "daddy," "bye bye," "cheese," and kind of "yeah." She loves to stand by our living room window and wave at cars driving by. Pretty cute! Oh, and she loves sesame street. Seriously, loves it. And is a little dancing queen too. And she's started singing a little with songs. It's so sweet! And gives kisses, along with blows kisses too. She is just such a little joy to be around!

That being said, we're really wanting to get pregnant again. My fertility has FINALLY come back this month (Sophia still nurses quite a bit, so I was wondering if it ever would), so now we just need to get down to business! That would put them about about two years apart if it worked right away, which hopefully it does! So cross your fingers for us! I'm sure Sophia will be a really great big sister.

I think I'm just going to leave it at that today. There's a little bit more in the works, but this is already a long catch up post! The next one should be very soon!