Lover of Driving

 Sophie is also a lover of driving! It all began one day when we were still at school and she discovered her friend Sadie's Cozy Coupe car. She became obsessed with it and even had an attitude when it was other kids' turn.

So we decided she needed her own, and Grandma Miller went out and got her her very own pink car.

She also loves to "drive" Daddy's car, golf carts, tractors, and anything else anyone will let her get her hands on. And she affectionately says, "bop bop" for "beep beep" when she gets in.

Lover of Animals

In Sophie's first year of life, she didn't have a lot of chances to get used to animals because most people at school didn't have any. Since we've been at Ben's parents' house for a month, she has gotten to hang out with a lot of animals, and she is now obsessed with them. 

The first animal she really got to know and like was Shep the dog. He doesn't really care for Sophie, so he usually walks away when she comes near. I make him sit sometimes so she can pet him though...

Sophie LOVES the kitties, and the good thing is, these kitties love her too. There are two, and they are both the nicest cats. She pets them, picks them up, pushes them, and hits them, and they put up with all of it without scratching, hissing, or running away. Sophie calls them "diddy" for "kitty."

She also loves to walk down to the barn to see the goats (and pig). We do this every day, usually about 3 times, and then she also often tries to talk Grandpa and Grandma into going down with her too.

Baby Swings are for Babies, Silly

Sophie loves the playground. She loves the slide the best, but she also like teeter totters and usually likes swings. She's even just happy to run around and pick up stones.

She's pretty cute herself when she's in the baby swing....

...her daddy on the other hand just looks goofy.

Words [14 months]

Summertime has come, and Sophie and I are enjoying spending our days together :) Today she is 14 months! So far this summer, we have gone to the park, went camping with my family, celebrated Ben's younger brother's graduation, visited with some friends, visited a friend's new baby, went on wagon and stroller rides, and Sophie especially loves her new friend Shep- Ben's parents' dog.

The biggest thing Sophie is doing these days is learning and trying new words ALL.THE.TIME!
I'm going to attempt to write down all of the words she says these days: mama, dada, duck, ball, uh oh, yeah (and yes), please, baby, balloon, mouth, dog, woof, moo, eeheehee (horse sound), rahrrr (lion sound), more, teeth, belly button, up, out, hey, shoes, snack, button, sit, that, slide, yuck, jump, go, book, "aw," "wee." I think I got them all :)

In other news, she also has noticed that I dump the poo from her cloth diapers into the toilet, apparently.... because I keep finding her heading into the bathroom with a (clean) diaper and trying to lift up the toilet seat. The first time I thought she was being naughty, but then I realized she was just imitating what she's seen me do. So cute! Too bad she doesn't really get the concept. I'd gladly let her dump her own poo!

Sophie's current Loves are: dogs, brushing her teeth, stroller/wagon rides, cozy coupe car, crackers, water, her mama, shoes, buttons, curtains and doors and steps, books

Dislikes: Getting her diaper changed, having her hair washed, having her finger nails clipped (although she's finally getting a little better about her hands being held- as long as she thinks she's in control), sitting anywhere for more than 30 seconds (she's always moving!), hats/face masks, getting too close to most animals (like goats and pigs for instance)

Living in Harmony as a Mom

I've considered this idea quite a bit lately... living in harmony as a mom, and particularly what that looks like when interacting with other moms and their children. You hear about that mom that's always fighting the principal saying, "MY child would never do that!" or the mom who always is blaming other children, "Oh Johnny, don't worry about that... it's not your fault, it's HIS fault" or the mom who always is bragging on her child, "My child was first in this, and beat all the other kids in this, and excels 5 grade levels higher in this..." I know I don't want to be that mom. But I'm beginning to understand exactly how much grace is involved once you start interacting a lot with other parents. I especially find it difficult to not let my pride creep in. 

I want to recognize that other parents have different parenting styles, and perhaps mine is not the only way or the best way. I also want to recognize that my child is capable of making bad choices and mistakes. And she will.

I have chosen a parenting style that I really like... it includes things such as natural birthing, breastfeeding, cloth diapering, cry it out, separate sleeping (no co-sleeping), disciplining, delayed vaccinations, and delay in offering solid foods (wait until 5 or 6 months). While I am happy that I have found a parenting style that I love and am comfortable with and that works well for us, I have found it equally difficult to not be judgmental toward those that choose a different parenting style. I often have to take a step back and check my motives. And often, I find that I'm pushing an agenda that isn't significant in the end. Sure, I really love saving money with cloth diapers and am happy to not be adding disposables to landfills... but in light of eternity, does a parent's choice to use disposables really matter? No. Sure, I am proud, happy, and relieved that letting Sophie cry herself to sleep a few times has made her a great sleeper. But if a parent chooses to not let his or her child cry to sleep, does it really matter in the light of eternity? Nope, probably not. I'm thankful that God is helping me to see these situations realistically. I still love to share my opinion, but I'm learning to ask God to give me wisdom in this. Sometimes people don't care about my opinion. Sometimes people don't need my opinion. And sometimes I just need to be more careful about how I share my opinion. It's good for me to recognize this because I don't want to ruin good relationships by being judgmental of others' parenting styles.

Now that Sophie is older, walking, and gaining more of a personality, she also is making choices that I have to watch closely. She recently likes to do this thing where she chases someone around and then pushes on them (her version of tag). This works and is super cute with adults, but it doesn't work so well with another 1 year-old. I'm having to make choices so that I don't offend other parents. I also have to make choices to hold my tongue when other parents say something to Sophie. I'm amazed at how quickly I can become defensive. Sometimes I realize it's good another parent asks Sophie to give something back or to be more gentle because, to be honest, I just wasn't watching her actions close enough. And other times parents say or do something that involves Sophie that I don't particularly care for, but I recognize that for the sake of our friendship, I should just brush it aside.

I'm learning quickly that being a parent... especially being a mom who lives in harmony with other moms... involves a lot of tongue-biting and slow reactions. I am thankful for the opportunity to be Sophie's mom, and I am thankful that God is teaching me how to live in harmony with others through this position he has allowed me to have.

Easter, Pigtails, Friends, and Independence [12 months]

Time for some pictures! Here are some pictures of Sophie from Easter...

I finally did pigtails on Sophie! She hates when I do her hair, so I usually don't try... but I was finally determined, and she was so cute! :)

I decided I needed a new picture of Sophie and Asa together, and now that they're both walking, they're go-go-go. So I set them in the rocking chair so that they were stuck :)

I LOVE watching Sophie play by herself. She's pretty good at it too. Of course, these are the times I should be getting other things done, but sometimes it's just too fun to watch her play. I especially love watching her read. It's really hard to be quiet though, and if she hears me coming toward her or open the camera, she always looks up...

But I did get one picture of reading :)

She's growing up so much lately! I realized yesterday that she says the word bellybutton when she sees my bellybutton (so silly!), and I asked her yesterday what a cow says, and she said, "mmm" for "moo." She's always surprising me with how smart she is! She also likes making me clap my hands and feeding me cheerios. One of my favorite things that she does right now is that she'll pick up a book and then come over and sit on my lap for me to read it. I sure do love this little girl :)

Milestones and Schedule Update [12 months]

I wrote before about Sophie's milestones, and I thought I would catch up on the last few months. I know I've listed them in posts, but I appreciate having them all listed together:

9 Months:

-Gives kisses

-Drinks from a cup (not sippy)

-Says "ball"

-Stands with help

-Got first haircut

10 Months:

-Walks with a walker

-7th tooth

-Claps hands

-Throws kisses

-Says "duck"

-Uses straw sippy cup

-Learns fine motor skills with toys

-"Dances" by bouncing up and down and waving hands

11 Months:

-8th tooth

-Stands on own

-Points to what she wants or what we say

-Plays peek-a-boo

-Says "Mama"

-Says "Uh oh"

-Says "Yeah"

-Says "Please"

-Takes 8-10 consecutive steps

-Says "Woof"

12 Months:

-Says "Baby"

-Says "Balloon"

-Walks

-Says "Mouth" and points to it

I also posted schedules from Sophie's life, and she now has a different schedule again, so I wanted to post it. I know others may not care about her schedule, but I want to remember for future kids, so I post this for myself :)

12 Month Schedule:

7:15am - Wake up and nurse

8:00am - Breakfast

10:30- Snack

11:00am - Nap (40 min.)

12:00pm - Lunch

2:00pm- Snack

3:00pm - Nap (1.5- 2 hour)

5:15pm - Dinner

7:00pm - Snack

8:00pm- Bed

Her schedule is so much easier now than it was in the early days! And she's down to just nursing once a day. I think we'll be done nursing soon :)