AZ

Sophie and I just got back from a fun trip to Arizona.  I love going home to see my families and to take a break from some of the normal routine.

It was perfect timing because I got to see my brothers run in their State Track Meet.  They are both amazing runners (I"m talking under 4 minute 30 second 1 miles and under 9 minute 40 second 2 miles).  My littlest brother took 2nd in the 1 mile (as a sophomore) and my older-younger brother took 5th in the 2 mile.  Fun fun fun. Sorry...It's too easy to brag.

Anyways, we also had a fun time going to Sedona with my mom, Rob's mom, his older sister Katie and her family, his younger sister Sarah and her boyfriend Jeff, and some friends.

Cousins...I love this one of Sophie and Grant.  They had fun playing together.  Or laughing at each other, depending on how you look at it. 

Hard to get a group shot, but I think this one's pretty typical.  

Sophie loved my parents house because the high ceilings made her voice echo loud and clear.  She would crawl to the banister and make noises any chance she could.

She also got a new pair of shades (Target 1$ section find=love) and loves to take them off and put them on over and over again.  

We also got to have dinner with this girl and part of her family.  She just graduated with a Masters degree in Art Education....talented and smart.  Need I say more?

AND...I got to see my friend Laurie and her cute new house and big puppy.  Sophie continues to be afraid of anything that moves, but started warming up to Lucy (Laurie's dog) before we left.  Although, she never did warm up to Harley (Rob's family's dog).  

She's going through a strange phase right now and only wanted to be held by me the entire time we were in AZ.  It was sort of exhausting, so I was glad when we came back to find that she is still a daddy's girl and wants him to hold her all the time too.  My arms were in need of a vacation.  

Babbling

The cast is finally off and we've been having some good laughs watching Sophie re-learn how to use her leg.  She is still nervous to put weight on it, so she spends most of her day standing like a flamingo.  It cracks me up.  

Recently, she is really into drinking water from the bath.  Either from the faucet as it comes out or by bending over and sticking her face in the water.  Which you can see above.  She tries to drink the water in the shower too, but has to use her hand to direct the drops into her mouth.  Very clever.

She spends a lot of time taking.  Her favorite things to say include "nah nah" for 'no' and "ba ba ba" for 'banana'.  The 'no' was cute the first 20 times she said it to me...now it's just ridiculous.  She'll say it anytime you do something she doesn't want you to, like wipe her face, put her down, change her diaper, ect.  As for 'banana', well she eats one everyday so it doesn't surprise me that she learned it quickly.  The best part is how she mimics my tone when she says it.  So funny.

She finally started saying "dada" for real.  She learned it a few months ago but it was a rare occasion when she said it.  Now she definitely knows what it means and says it all the time.  Of course, she still says "mama" all the time.  Which I still love more than anything.

So glad the whole broken leg ordeal is finally over.  Mostly because Sophie will be able to move forward with her normal development (it will be slower, but at least there will be progress again), but also because I was getting slightly tired of the mean looks and questions from random strangers about her cast.  I don't think I've ever had an experience quite like it before.  It has made me a lot more understanding of others and grateful for the knowledge I have of our Heavenly Father, forgiveness, and the atonement.  He truly understands our pains and sorrows.  

Happy Friday everyone.  I blame this cousin for the Pizza craving I'm having right now.  We even broke normal routine and had it last night for dinner instead of tonight.  It's still the only food I can think about right now.