The Polar Express...

Took Sophie on her very first train ride to the North Pole!! We had hot chocolate and cookies all the while singing and dancing to Christmas music. Sophie met Santa, and to our surprise, wasn't completely mortified. What fun!!






[Waiting for Santa]

Cool PJam's we got at the gift shop...



Definitely will be a Leary Christmas tradition. Thanks family for going with us, wouldn't have been the same without you!

Have a Merry Christmas everyone!!

Love, love, love.

Twenty-Two Months...

Thanksgiving was fabulous but...I forgot my darn camera. Figures. Now it seems we are only weeks away from CHRISTMAS...my favorite holiday and time of year!!! So far Sophie seems to like it too. She got her own tree and loves ornaments. She knows that Santa says "Ho, Ho, Ho" and that he's going to bring her presents if she's good. We've been driving around and "yights" are everywhere. We LOVE YIGHTS!!







Twenty-two months...where do I start. She does new things almost daily. Her talking is amazing...she has even said three syllable sentences. Something about jumping these days, we have to jump constantly. Only now, we can actually get both feet a couple inches off the floor. "Cons" or "nuss"...we eat a lot of pecans from our tree. We have to "holl" = hold everything. Even our green beans which we think are "sakes" = snakes. Some new likes are "A-Po-Jacks" = Apple Jacks and egg nog.



She likes to make faces. [frowny, happy, surprised] LOVES to talk on the phone!!! She plays her games, looks at pictures and reads storybooks on my phone too! Have you seen the girl with a phone? She knows where her apps are and can flip those pages like a champ. Secretly, I think she knows more about my phone that I do.



Well, before we know it it'll be Christmas!! Happy Shopping!!

AND - a special CONGRATS to my cousin Lauren for completing her Susan G. Komen's Marathon of 26 miles [YES...26!!!]. You ROCK!!! Glad you're back in your heels!! And I hope Shaun and Meagan are still breathing too!

Love, love, love!

Twenty-One Months...

Several weeks late but as I said before this moving business is crap! We finally have a living room to "play" in and Sophie finally feels like she is back in her house. She's grown right before our eyes, yet again, doing big girl things and there's no stopping this chick.


[Sophie's Turkey Cookie]


[Decorating cookies with Davy and Johnny]

She likes "polish" on her fingers and toes. Picks out her own hair clips and loves to wear shoes. She's recently been able to match the colors to her puzzle, correctly. Loves lollipops. She goes everywhere with her baby and purse in tow [sometimes sunglasses too]. She does EVERYTHING you do, if you stand on a chair...she has to stand there too. Likes to give hugs and kisses or "huss and kiss". New favorite food...Welch's fruit snacks [if you call that a food] although she has taken a liking to green beans which is so random. But wait...I can't forget about Nanny's fruit and jello either...she LOVES that too! So sugar and green beans...yummo.



She learned how to scoot her ride-on toy with her feet. Loves chapstick and can do a really "funny face". She likes to pose for pictures now and will say "cheese" without being prompted. Of course, she has to see her picture immediately after you take it to laugh at herself. Such a character!




[Funny face]

Did I mention she did pee-pee on her potty?? TWICE!! We're not actually potty-training at the moment, I just figured it would be too much on a little person with the move and all but we practice. She even wipes for crying in the rain!!! Oh and she thinks her "Senny" [Aunt Jen] is hilarious..."Poo-Poo-Ca-Ca". No Jen, she didn't forget!! [LOL]

Well next up...THANKSGIVING!! Holy cow where did the year go?? Hope everyone has a fabulous holiday.

And...a huge CONGRATS to Chachie and Jen on their big news...a LITTLE LOPEZ!!! We're so stoked for you both...only nine months away!!

Have a great week to everyone reading. Love.

Happy Halloween!!!...

Sophie's first "trick-or-treating" experience this year. Her uncles showed her how the process works and once she found out neighbors were GIVING her candy, my gosh...our little witch was unstoppable!





We treated in two neighborhoods and Sophie was practically running to get more "cannee". Luckily she had 5 boys to take her to each house. She would latch on to one of their fingers and drag them along. She didn't want to be carried by us nor did she want help with her treat bag [she'd rather drag it then give it up]. Needless to say, Halloween was a big hit and I think she's been sugared up enough to last the remainder of the YEAR.





Hope everyone had a fabulous time too. Thanks to uncles Mike-Mike and Davy; and thanks to all three Shaffer boys for being so sweet to our little tyke. Sophie thinks you boys are the coolest ever!





Lot of love!

Twenty Months...

Sophie turned 20 months old! [sorry, I'm alittle late] We already knew she was a "big girl" but I guess we underestimated how BIG she thinks she actually is. As most know we have officially moved back to LUBBOCK so being around family for her is HUGE! She's been hanging with her family and she's become a new person practically. She is more outgoing as opposed to being so shy. And she talks! She's her normal self...silly, sweet and fun! The side everyone gets to enjoy now!!

She says MANY words...her vocabulary count is near the 100s [if not more]. She loves airplanes..."AIRPANE"! She likes to color and play with her uncles trucks. She loves to be outside, making the rounds looking at all the animals on Pop Pop and Grandma's farm.



She likes to touch and feel EVERYTHING! Picking it up to get a closer look and see how it works is mere necessity these days, whether that be at home, outside or shopping. If she can reach it...it's in her hands. She likes to be tickled. Hates to go to bed and loathes brushing her teeth. She loves to jump on the bed or couch and can now climb up on the couch all by herself.





I'm sure I am missing so many more milestones here but frankly, my brain is out of sorts. We'll update again after we move in our house and, of course, for HALLOWEEN!!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week. Love, love, love.

Last day...

Today will be our last full day in North Carolina. Bittersweet because it is such a beautiful place to live and we've enjoyed getting to know the town of Holly Springs, not to mention our fabulous neighbors. Thanks to Ernie and Ann Olson for being our second family. Such wonderful people...Sampson thinks so too!



So if you're thinking of moving...DON'T! I, undoubtedly, can say packing/loading/moving STINKS....[yup, pretty much the entire process]. Mike and I have totally come to an agreement that we are NEVER moving again. [That should make our families happy] Poor Sophie is old enough now to understand her things are disappearing before her eyes but she doesn't quite understand why?!?! Everything we pack up she's right behind you saying "mine" with a pout. But with anything luck...our praying will do us some good and get our living situation figured out quickly.


[Just trying to get in trouble...]

Continue to pray for us for this week. Me and Sophie will be flying Friday morning while Mike and his Mum drive the vehicles back to TEXAS, through Saturday!!! Almost in the clear for our next life adventure!

Have a great day! Love.

Vacation...

Saturday night before our vacation to St. Thomas we get a call from my Mom regarding weather conditions in the Virgin Islands...not looking good. After long thought...we cancelled our [muchly] anticipated trip to the beach. As Sophie would say "SHUCKS!". Earl had other plans in mind for us...if not Bolongo Bay head to LUBBOCK!!



Sophie had no problems hanging out with family. In fact, she had a blast! She went swimming, rode a horse for the first time, and was practically at a petting zoo the entire trip. She loves animals and everyone in our family has them so she was in heaven meeting all the pets.


["Pa" blowing up the pool]



Swimming was too fun! Her and Rammie did "splashies" for hours. Horse riding wasn't exactly the best experience for her but she liked to look at them and pet their noses. The chickens were too funny running around and she laughed especially hard when her uncles would chase them.


[SPLASH!!!]




[Petting crazy chickens with Grandpa and Uncle Johnny]



She even got to see her Midland crew for a bit before the first Texas Tech game. [GO TECH!!] Took a minute to warm up but she took a liking to Reagan pretty quickly. They were hand in hand in no time at all!


[cousins Reagan and Mason]

Thanks to Jen and Chach for letting us bunk at your casa this time. Had a fabulous time with everyone! Love.