The Terrific Twos

My sister and Sofie have birthdays just one day apart, so we had a big ol' feast and celebration the last weekend of August. We made 2 GIGANTIC lasagnas, tons of garlic bread, salad, and corn. This is the cake...my first experiment with cake decorating! I promise the gray color really did look purple in real life. :)

A few of the feasters. Trust me, nobody left hungry.

My after-nap haired, lasagna faced, beautiful little darling 2 year old.

She may have been more excited about the corn on the cob than she was about the cake!

Sofie loves uncle Scott. She asks about him all day. We've been lucky to have him here living with us the past couple weeks until he can find a place to rent. Scott is helping Sofie find Waldo (or maybe the other way around!)

Tons of presents! (and tons of cousins!)

I wonder what she wished for before she blew them out. She made us light them again because she loved blowing them out so much!

Having fun with grandpa and cousins. I promise that first little squeal is a "twoooo!" when I asked how old she was!
(and just a note for Ma and Pa Blatter, this is the darling dress that Grandma S. made for her a few months back)

Payson Lakes Camping

We finally got to go overnight camping this summer! We had a family group site up at Payson Lakes. Derek couldn't come up until after his class late that night, so it was nice to have lots of cousins and family around to help keep Sofie busy.

Completely soaked in the ice cold spigot water! They both were violently shaking by the time the sun started to go down, but it sure kept them busy for hours! Good thing I brought lots of extra clothes.

No more pictures until the next day...because it POURED for quite some time, more than once. Our tent was flooded (including my clothes which you see drying here). Fortunately, my parents were willing to give up their place in the nice, warm, dry trailer and they slept in their car. Sofie slept...most of the night.

Exploring. (Yes, that mommy is sportin' a bit of a belly already.)

Cheese

This fire ring was perfect for toddlers. HUGE concrete barrier to keep them out of harms way.
Roasting Marshmallows. The first attempt failed the night before due to torrential downpour.

Experiencing the amazing S'more! She mostly just poked her finger in the goo, then licked it off or wiped it on her shirt, but she didn't put it down for about 45 minutes!

When the rain clouds finally went away we headed to the lake. Freezing cold water, and lots of wind, but Sofie loved it.

Tons of fun. Tons of family. Let's do it again next year!

Sofie's early birthday

Some people are lucky enough to have two wedding receptions because they have family in two areas. Sofie's extra lucky because she gets to have two birthdays! One in St. George, and one here at home. This was her early party a week or so ago. Plenty of cake and plenty of presents! Hasn't even had her real birthday yet! So spoiled!

"Cheeeeeez"

Stuffing her face.

The post-sugar crash.

Cousins, Spicy Pancakes, and the Will to Go On!

Sofie got her fill of cousins as we left family behind in St. George to pull in home and find even more cousins to play with! Popcorn and a movie.

Derek and I were letting Sofie "help" us make German Pancakes the other day, however, after we'd measured the milk and turned around to add the eggs, Sofie grabbed her favorite spice off the rack and dumped about 1/4 cup into our mix. Hot Red Pepper Flakes. Mmmm Spicy Pancakes!!!

I've finally reached the 2nd Trimester...and no it's not easier than the first yet, so quit telling me that it is! However, my sympathetic husband seems to understand and brought me home the most gorgeous Lily bouquet. I told him it's perfect because it's so strong that I'm constantly reminded that he bought me flowers, and they change daily, and of course, they're totally gorgeous! Since then, almost all of the flowers have fully bloomed. Maybe I'll make it through the 2nd Trimester.

A little early, but gettin' ready!!

I still have a good 6+ months, but I couldn't wait to try this out! I got word of a deal where you could buy a nursing cover (disrespectful company name left out here) and only pay $10 shipping. For a $35 product (before shipping), $10 is a deal. However, I know they're easy to make, so I took the challenge of making one for cheaper! I win! These two nursing covers cost me $13 for both. That included the fabric, D-rings, boning, and thread. It only took a few hours to make both (and that includes my perfectionism of needing to press everything before I sew!) I'm excited to be able to use them eventually...

I made them both extra wide, because let's be honest, the girls they base the original ones on aren't my size :)

(whoops, just noticed a string I forgot to snip off!)

Let's Be Fair

Well, for starters, there are a few of you out there that may not know yet ('cuz you're either not family, or you aren't a facebooker). From the picture above, of pickles and ice cream, you may safely deduce that I am pregnant. About 10 weeks now. We're very excited!

Now, down to the point at hand. I recently overheard someone saying that I "wasn't feeling 100%." Can I just be the first to rant about how unfair that statement is. I have been miserable before, things like swelling on the brain, shingles, swine flu, food poisoning in 3rd world countries (where a squatter is the only toilet around), migraines, dehydration, sleep deprevation, broken bones, child birth, wisdom teeth, obesity, depression etc. But I have never been so miserable in my whole life. Just because I'm not puking my guts out doesn't mean I'm not slowly and painfully dying inside. Pregnancy hormones and I don't get along.

Thanks for listening to me whine. It'll all be over (until next time) in 30 weeks.

Soooooo Good!

Not sure who taught her this one, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it was somebody in the Blatter household... It's darling, but really hard to get on camera!

"Sooooooo Good!"

Independence Day

Happy 4th!! (3rd, 4th and 5th, what a great year!)

Blatter Family Reunion

Fun crafts at the party!

Thrilled with the snaps. She just used her best stomp to make them work, too little for throwing.

Cool enough for a jacket!

Fireworks!

Belated Father's Day Post

Father's Day 2010

(This is Sofie's "cheese" face!)

I'm so grateful for Derek's natural talent for being a wonderful Daddy!

He's been so amazing with Sofie.

Thanks for everything you do!

We love you!

Happy Father's Day!

Camping! (the cheater way)

We've been really lucky over the years to have campgrounds close by our home, so that if we don't feel like sleeping over, or if it's still FREEZING at night in June up the canyon, we just spend the day with all the happy trailer-campers, utilize the fire for s'mores at night, then drive home and sleep all snuggly in our beds. Works out great for us! :)

(My mom and sister have more of the cuter pictures, so I may have to follow this one up when I get copies)

Thursday night we joined the family for a camp fire up at Timpooneke. Sofie was tired and mostly sat in laps, staring at the fire.

The whole crew (including the silver haired camp host that somehow became BFF with the Grand-parents. I thinks he ate most of her meals with our family throughout the weekend! She drove a Segway around and let everybody try it out...fascinating old lady)

Cold Mom, Dad, and Sofie (but it's always worth the s'more!)

Me, Grandma and Sofie (lots of posing)

This one's for Mom, who's always the one TAKING the picture, not IN the picture.

The rest of the family stayed Thursday Friday and Saturday, but we didn't join them again until Saturday afternoon. It was warm and sunny and beautiful! Sofie and Sierra had a GREAT time!

Sofie insisted on the baseball cap. Darling.

My little Homey hangin' out by the "fire". She had a great time and is still asking to go back to the "mowtins"