It's a.....

Since Allen's exam is now over (and the waiting for results begins), we had our ultrasound this morning. And, we're having a .... BOY!! I was convinced going in that we would be having a girl, so I'm a little bit surprised, and now my head is spinning with all of the things we'll need to get. Let's just say that we do not have much neutral clothing from the first time around -- we somehow ended up with lots and lots of pink!

To say that Allen is excited is a bit of an understatement. He actually let out a little yell and fist pump in the air when the technician showed us the baby's "boy parts." I think he's ready for a mini-Allen and all of the sports events that the baby's childhood may bring.

And, finally....Sophie called it right. During the last few weeks, she's insisted that we're having a boy!

Good Luck Allen!

So Allen is off for his last (9th) actuarial exam! Wish him luck!!

I am constantly amazed by how focused and devoted he is to these exams. We both know that the more he focuses and spends time studying, the quicker he'll be done with them. I'm so proud (and thankful) that he's been able to pass exams as quickly as he has, and I'm hoping this one is no different. That said, the idea of having my husband home at night is lovely, so in a selfish way, I really want him to be done with these exams. We've spent three years of sacrificing time together for him to study.

Good luck Allen!!

Missing Sophie and studying hard

Sophie went to her grandparent's house yesterday to spend the night. And, while I "enjoy" my time to catch up on house work and photography processing, I'm also horribly missing her. It's amazing how quiet the house is and how I miss my little helper. Sophie's definitely mommy's little girl, and a little mommy at that. She often helps me vacuum, dust, and sweep with her own toddler-size broom. Not to mention, she's started to take an interest in helping me cook. So...Sophie, mommy misses you, and I can't wait to see you later today!!!

While Sophie's been at grandma and papa's house, Allen has been studying. He will be taking what may be (fingers crossed) his last actuarial exam on Thursday. So, he's definitely in crack-down mode for studying. The thought of Allen being done with exams (he seriously studies about 8-9 months out of the year, and has been doing this for 3 years) is beyond words. Good luck babe!!

Fall in Michigan

Even though this fall has been unusually cool and a bit cloudy and rainy, I still love, love, love fall in Michigan -- the leaves changing colors, the crisp air, the quality of sunlight, and apple cider and doughnuts. Seriously, is there anything better or more "fall" than apple cider and cinnamon-spiced doughnuts? And, with a cider mill every few miles in southeast Michigan, its easy to enjoy and indulge! Last weekend we took Sophie to Three Cedar Farms to pick out pumpkins and enjoy the delicious apple cider and spiced doughnuts!! It was so much fun -- and this farm was hopping! I have to say that it's also wonderful to see businesses (particularly seasonal businesses) being successful in this area!

Sophie loved picking out pumpkins. She would run from pumpkin to pumpkin, try to pick it up, and say "it's heavy, it's heavy." Whenever she says "heavy," she strains her voice....it's one of my favorite words that she says, just because of how expressive she is when she uses it. Sophie also really liked the little pumpkins, which she called "baby pumpkins." We ended up picking out one big pumpkin for carving a jack-o-lantern, and two baby pumpkins.

2 year portraits

This past weekend was a really busy weekend for us. Sophie attended a friend's birthday party, we took her 2 year portraits, and we went to the pumpkin farm to pick out pumpkins (more about this in the next post). I just want to share some photos from our little portrait session. The weather finally cooperated long enough for me to take Sophie out to a couple parks and attempt to get some photos while she endured the rather chilly weather. We even had a little tea party! You can see more of these images on my photography blog (http://cmlphotography.blogspot.com/).

Sticker pockets and the manners police

I'm constantly amazed by Sophie's growing language skills and vocabulary. She regularly puts 3-5 words together to tell us things, and sometimes surprises me with just how clever she is. Case in point... a couple nights ago, Sophie picked up a couple of stickers, put them between the waistband of her pants and her tummy, and came to Allen and me pointing to this and saying "sticker pocket, sticker pocket." First, I didn't even know that she knew the word pocket. But more importantly, to see her associate the meaning of pocket with how she was placing her stickers, was really great. And so cute. Here are a couple photos of Sophie's "sticker pocket."
In addition to her ever-growing vocabulary, she has also become the manners police in our household. If she sneezes and I don't say anything, it's -- "Mommy, I sneeze -- bless you, bless you, bless you" until, of course, I interject with "bless you Sophie." Allen's having a particularly hard time remembering to say "you're welcome" and is bombarded with "you're welcome, you're welcome, daddy - you're welcome," until he responds appropriately.

Sophie's 2nd Birthday (...or was it 9th Birthday?)

A few weeks ago, we celebrated Sophie's 2nd birthday with family and friends at our house. I planned a very subtly themed "S" party. Sophie wore a shirt with a monogrammed S and there were S- cupcakes, but nothing too over the top with the theme (she's only 2, right!). Had I known that Sophie would be swimming in princess gifts, I might have gone with a Cinderella party... well, maybe next year.

I think the funniest memory that I'll keep with me from Sophie's second birthday, was her insistence that she was not, in fact, two, but nine. Seriously, Sophie!?! NINE? Where that came from, I'll never know, but it was awfully cute, and combined with a week-long phase where she called me "mom" instead of "mommy," it was a bit foreshadowing. I can honestly say that I'm not looking forward to my little girl growing up and turning....nine.

Here's Sophie and my mom, who came to visit for the weekend, enjoying some of the yummy food!

Our little monkey! Burning off some energy between food and cake....Sophie wasn't quite sure what to do with the candles, so Daddy took care of it. Thank you Daddy!

Sophie's not a particularly messy eater, even with the enticing cake and ice cream. For a two-year old I like to think that she has pretty good table manners!

Opening presents! I cannot overstate just how much princess stuff Sophie got for her birthday! Cinderella coloring books, a Disney princess blanket, a princess lunchbox and dinner set, a princess chair, Cinderella and Snow White dvds and dress-up costumes, and even her very own Disney princess castle. The funny thing is, we have no idea where Sophie's princess (mainly Cinderella) obsession came from. Yes, we have some Disney princess storybooks, but was that really enough to completely engross her? Sophie has talked about Cinderella ('rella) for months now -- she literally screams "'rella, 'rella" whenever we're out and she catches a glimpse of the princess. Which is quite often, believe it or not. She's now beginning to identify the other princesses too - Jasmine, Belle, Ariel, and Snow White. She's such a little girl, sometimes!

Always the polite hostess - here's Sophie saying thank you and goodbye to cousin Maggie! And notice that 18-months later, Gerry the Giraffe still accompanies Sophie everywhere (thanks Kelsey!)

A post-party picture and smile for mommy!

I still can't believe my little girl is two!