Football...Football...Football

In honor of the Civil War game coming up, I thought I'd share with you this picture I just came across from a few years ago. Tim and I both love football, and over the years we got the chance to go to a few Oregon games...and of course, loved every minute of it. My brother graduated from OSU, but somehow we haven't been to one of their games yet. Maybe one of these days.

Oh...and did I mention that for the first time ever I'm also in a fantasy football league? Yes, with my very own team. And don't tell Tim I told you, but....shhh....I'm beating him. Cross your fingers for me that I'm able to finish up the season in my first place spot and prove to all the other guys in the league that girls know a thing or two about football as well. :)

The Business of a Bumble Bee

For Sophie's second Halloween, we dressed her up as a bumble bee. Pretty traditional, I know....in fact, we got lots of comments like "Hey, I was a bumble bee when I was a kid!". This was the reason we chose a bumble bee costume for her. I (Melissa) was a bumble bee when I was little too, so we wanted to pass along the tradition. She had a blast doing a little trick or treating on our street, and of course making us crack up laughing as we watched her crawl across the floor with her little stinger sticking straight up in the air. Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch

Today we headed out to a pumpkin patch in Canby, just down the road from Sophie's grandparents' house. It's the same one that I grew up going to, and we even got to ride the train around the patch just like I did 20 some years ago. It was a little chilly in the rain but it was fun to get out and create some more memories.

Celebrating 60 Years

Have I mentioned what a great dad I have? He's a pretty amazing guy. And this weekend we got to celebrate his 60th birthday. Saturday was a surprise party over at his house with 45 guests, lots of wine, a slide show of his life, and some great stories. Sunday we went down the road here in Newberg to the new spa resort (The Allison) for a fancy 5 course dinner with just the family. It was a fantastic weekend, and we're so happy we got to celebrate Dad and all that he means to us.

At dinner, Dad spent time going around the table and giving some items to each of us that he felt fit us for the time of life we're in right now. Then he gave us his "what I've learned in my 60 years" speech. It was great! Sophie's item was a stuffed bear, and she was beyond thrilled.

The family! So happy Kylie, Josh's girlfriend, could join us too.

Life, Lately

I haven't posted much over the last few weeks. We've been up to a lot of stuff, but it just hasn't made its way to the computer. Here's a synopsis of life, lately. Sans pictures. My apologies to those of you visual people out there.

• Had our first garage sale ever. You'd think, this being our first, that we'd have a ton of stuff to sell, but we frequent the Goodwill drop off site regularly, so in fact we did not. But it was fun to do and we made out with a whopping $100 profit. Well worth the time!
• Sophie's made up for lost time and now has 4 teeth! We count our lucky stars that she's a great teether...not night wakings at all! Better go find some wood to knock on.
• We (Sophie and Melissa) have been going to story time at the library and learning lots of fun songs. We also went to the Newberg Indoor Park and had a great time.
• Sophie took her first steps!!! Three in a row. Since then, she hasn't seemed super enthused about trying again (although she has a few times). She's pretty much a very happy crawler. Oh well. No rush on our parts.
• Did I mention car trouble? Yes, car trouble, car trouble, and more car trouble. From both cars. I try to remind myself to be grateful we even have two cars. Just wish they would work as they should.
• Tim and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary! We forgot to take pictures, but it was a great day spent together. Went on a walk in the sun and then cooked a steak dinner at home. Still can't believe it's been 5 years...

That's about it for now. More to come I'm sure!

Dinner Time Shenanigans

It was just Sophie and I for dinner tonight, so we livened things up a bit. Between bites of broccoli and chicken, we played a great game of "get your head as dirty as possible with those sticky hands of yours". Also known as dinner-time peekaboo.

If Life Was Like a Movie...

Have you seen Almost Famous? Do you remember that scene were the band is in the airplane and they all think they're going to crash and die? In the last few moments, they all start shouting out things that had previously gone unsaid. They felt free to clear the air, be completely honest with each other, and own up to secrets they'd been living with. I sometimes wish life was like this. Why must we put on faces for each other? Why can't we always just speak what's truly in our head, not having to wonder what that person will think or how they'll judge us?

On the same note...sometimes (okay, all the time) I wish life was like a musical. We could just break out in song and dance - completely unrehearsed yet incredibly sycronized - whenever the mood hit us. Tense moment? Why not sing about it. Love sick and want everyone to know? Put on your dancing shoes and belt out a tune. Hey...it worked in Grease.

One Year

Wow....so it's incredibly cliche to say this, but time really does fly. Our little girl is about to turn one, and we're struggling to figure out where the time went. Goodbye baby days, hello toddlerhood. I just can't believe it...

This past weekend, we held a party for her over at Grandma & Grandpa's house. Lots of friends joined us, and it was a fun way to celebrate her big day. Here are some pics from the party.

A Tradition Continues

We recently took Sophie to the Clackamas County Fair for the first time. I (Melissa) grew up going every year with my family. We lived close enough that we could walk to it, and spent many summers afternoons there. It was a lot of fun to take Sophie and relive some of those memories. The highlights for her (I'm pretty sure she'd agree if she could talk) were the pony rides and seeing lots of piglets. A true Canby experience...

Beauty

I recently read an article in the magazine "Real Simple" (thanks Stacey!) in which six women write about what makes them feel beautiful. Their responses were refreshing and thought provoking - and really, the subject is timely for me as it's something that has entered my thoughts frequently over the past year. One woman wrote about being active every day. Another told the story of her husband who, just before passing at the age of 82 (and after 39 years of marriage), told her she had made him a happy man. His words made her feel beautiful.

So much has changed for me lately. My identity...the things I consider important...how I spend my time... Little did I know before starting this adventure, i.e. parenthood, that so too would my definition of beauty change as well. It had to. For if I wanted to continue feeling beautiful (at times), I had to reinvent what that meant. The ways in which I used to feel it now felt petty, and in some ways, unattainable. Pregnancy, child birth, and then 10 months of very interrupted sleep has taken its toll on this body. Pictures of my pre-pregnancy days remind me of this even when I don't want to be reminded. But in those pictures - no matter how radiant I appeared - there's something missing. I might have felt beauty, but I hadn't yet created it. I didn't know the beauty of a newborn's first cry. Nor how beautiful I would feel as, dressed in a hospital gown and sweaty from 15 hours of labor, I nursed my child for the first time. My body had helped bring her into this world, and now it was helping sustain her. THAT was beautiful.

Most days I spend at home, in not-so-flattering clothes, trying to remember what it felt like to wear heels and a nice outfit every day to work. But I pick my daughter up, hold her on my hip, and look into her soulful brown eyes - and I feel more beautiful than ever.

Walla Walla Wine

This weekend Tim and I took our first overnight trip without Sophie and headed up to Walla Walla Washington with some friends to do some wine tasting. We found some pretty good wineries, but mostly we had a really fun time with great friends. 21 wineries in two days....yes, we're a little crazy about wine.

Our first stop - Seven Hills Winery. After several hours in the car, we were ready to stretch our legs and drink a little vino. Bummer it wasn't the greatest - well, okay, the whites were okay. The reds were another story. But we tried to remain optimistic.

After several more wineries, we'd gotten into a groove. This is at one of the more picturesque ones...Trust Cellars. The best part? They had a wine named Sophie there.

Drinking more wine at our campsite. Ben treated us with a bottle from one of our favorite spots - Tamarack Cellars. You would have thought that by dinner time we'd be sick of wine, but not us!

Our last stop on the way home was at Maryhill Winery in Goldendale. It was absolutely gorgeous there and had beautiful views of the Gorge. A great way to end the trip. Then....played catch phrase in the car on the way home and laughed till we cried. Thank you Arthurs for a great trip!

10 Years

On Friday night, we headed off to Melissa's 10 year high school reunion. It was great to catch up with friends and share stories of where our lives have taken us...

Day at the Beach

The weather has been so beautiful, and we were itching to go on an adventure, so we headed off to the beach this weekend and spent some time in Pacific City. This was Sophie's second time to the beach, but her first as a "crawler". She loved the sand and surprised us by not even attempting to eat it! As soon as we set her down in it, she crawled for what must have been 1/4 mile before she even looked up to see where she was. She was in crawling heaven!

Catching Up

I've found new inspiration to update our blog more frequently, so we have a little catching up to do. Life has been full lately and we've had lots of fun enjoying it through Sophie's eyes. Here are some glimpses of what we've been up to.

Sophie's first trip to the zoo was exciting - and we got to see a giraffe up close and personal. Her favorites by far were the monkeys and the goats. Yes, you heard me right....the goats.

Father's Day pictures

Grandma loved showing her the horses at our friends house. She couldn't get enough of them!

Tim and I both hope she grows up to love music. She had her first experience with a guitar, and although she was a little hesitant at first, she seems to be warming up.

Mountains are by far one of Tim's favorite things in this world, so it was a necessity that Sophie experience her first mountain trip as soon as possible. This past weekend we headed up to Mount Hood where we spent a little time at a stream and then hiking near the mountain.

More to come...I promise.

1 Corinthians 13, Paraphrased

I've been reading the book "A Mother's Heart" by Jean Fleming, and last night I read the following...which struck me as slightly funny but incredibly true and a great reminder of how I should seek to love. 1 Corinthians 13 has always been an inspiring verse for me, but when paraphrased and put into the context of a mother's love, it's simply great....

If I keep my house immaculately clean, and am envied by all for my interior decorating, but do not show love in my family - I'm just another housewife.

If I'm always producing lovely things - sewing, art; if I always look attractive, and speak intelligently, but am not loving to my family - I am nothing.

If I'm busy in community affairs, teach Sunday school, and drive in the carpool, but fail to give adequate love to my family - I gain nothing.

Love changes diapers, cleans up messes, and ties shoes - over and over again.

Love is kind, though tired and frazzled.

Love doesn't envy another wife - one whose children are "spaced" better, or in school so she has time to pursue her own interests.

Love doesn't try to impress others with my abilities or knowledge as a mother.

Love doesn't scream at the kids.

Love doesn't feel cheated because I didn't get to do what I wanted to do today - sew, read, soak in a hot tub.

Love doesn't lose my temper easily.

Love doesn't assume that my children are being naughty just because their noise level is irritating.

Love doesn't rejoice when other people's children misbehave and make mine look good. Love is genuinely happy when others are honored by their children.

The First 9 Months: Slideshow with Music

Motherhood

Well hello blogland! I thought the day would never come, but here I am...my first blog entry. Tim has ever so politely suggested over the past few months that I write something, and I always looked at him like he was crazy. Write something??? I didn't even have time to make myself a sandwich, let alone contribute to this blog he created. Was he crazy?

Fast forward to now, and there's a 7 month old baby napping peacefully in her crib, I have a few moments to share some thoughts with you, and then....I'll go make myself a sandwich. Can you believe it? I hardly can. I always new motherhood would be an adventure, but little did I know how fast the adventure would unfold. Was it really 6 months ago that Sophie looked up at me and smiled for the first time? Oh how much unparalleled joy I felt in that one single moment. Has it truly been months since we've had to bounce on that darn yoga ball to help her to stop crying in the evening? My how our backs ached from the bouncing. So much has happened so quickly, and our little girl is.....yes, growing up. Can we please stop the clocks for just a little while? This stage is so much fun, and she is quite incredible, adorable and lovely. But stopping the clocks would mean postponing all the wonderful things that are ahead of us, and I know there will be many.

While I would love to write more, some of those annoying but necessary household duties are calling and Sophie's bound to wake up here sometime soon. You mothers out there will most likely agree with me....when the baby's napping, the clock moves so much quicker! Oh yes, and that sandwich I talked about...that's on the to-do list as well. Sandwiches are so much easier to assemble with two hands instead of one.

Until next time - or next "nap time" :)

Winter Poses

Sophie Grabbing Her Feet

Sophie's Favorite Time: Bath Time

Rosenberry Family in Front of Cape Mears Light House

Sophie and Both Her Grandma's

Grandma Berry Visiting from PA

Mommy and Sophie at Beach

Daddy and Sophie Try Not to Get Swept Away

Winter Sunset over the Pacific Ocean