my little Sophie Wren

So, I had to change my clothes 4 times today. I think we've gone through 2 rolls of paper towels and half a bottle of Resolve, and Roy picked up a package of potty-train-your-dog-pads that I used to line the couch, floor, and pillows where Sophie was laying, watching Sesame Street and Angelina Ballerina. Yes, for the last 24 hours, my child has been a little puke fountain.

Sorry if that grosses you out. I'm well beyond the point of gross.

Tonight she walked up to me at 7:00, said "night" and laid her head in my lap. When I didn't oblige quickly enough, she went to Roy, repeated her desire, and he scooped her up and took her to bed. This is highly out of the ordinary.

For some reason this makes me want to highlight some of Sophie's cuter personality traits that have started to show themselves. I guess it's because even though she was feeling yucky today, she was still her normal self. Silly, serious, talkative, and affectionate. Sure, now her talents include hitting MOST of the bucket when she pukes and eating - well, drinking - chicken broth without the cumbersome addition of a spoon, but oh, she is so much more.

One of the things that brings my heart so much joy is her love of music. She loves a wide variety, but what really makes her stop is opera. If she's fussy in the mornings while we're trying to get ready for work, I turn on channel 19, the Fine Arts Channel. She has loved this channel since she was brand new to the world, but her interest in opera has grown with her. It's as though my Grandpa Bixel is whispering the story in her ear. And whenever I see her stop and look, I feel an immense amount of pride and feel him with us.

That being said, she does love her some Noggin... and what is it with kids and laundry baskets?
She also loves to dance, but rarely alone. If something with a good beat comes on, she'll run up to us and say, "DANCE!" "DANCE!!" She doesn't seem to mind my lack of coordination.
Sophie has this expression she makes when she sees something that makes her happy. It could be the dog. Me or Roy. Granny. Her baby (which deserves it's own blog post). A cracker. It's been difficult to capture on camera, but Riley did a great job of getting this shot at Aaron and Katie's wedding. It's not quite, but pretty darn close.
She is quite the girly girl. She loves dresses, shoes, and jewelry. When Carrie was in town and we were looking through her things, she repeatedly chose the most expensive necklace in the bunch and would wear it around looking proud and beautiful. When Carrie isn't around, however, she goes for the beads. Oh, she also loves wearing very few clothes and has now learned to take off her diaper.
While she is an incredibly silly, social girl, she is also very serious. She is like my dad in a lot of ways, and they share the sign Virgo. If she sees a puzzle piece laying in the middle of the floor, she will put it away before moving on to something else. Her attention span is long. She will get frustrated and get upset, but for the most part she will work on something longer than even I could. Recently, she has fallen in love with the rain.

As she nears the beginning of her 22nd month, I am simply astounded by her old soul and the personality that has flourished. Before I was pregnant, I said in jest that I would be able to bend and control my child to my will. I am shocked - and pleased - to discover that I have no desire to.

A beautiful wedding, a darling family.

Today - Saturday - Roy's step-brother, Aaron, married the beautiful Katie Arnold. I am certain the rain stopped JUST for the event. It was simply lovely.


My niece and nephew, in all their adorable-ness, were flower girl and ring bearer. The real activity, however, took place at the reception. E.N.E.R.G.Y. follows this quartet everywhere and they always have such fun! I am reminded to be grateful for the close proximity of this family when my clan is so very far away.



Before the wedding party arrived at the reception, the kids warmed up the dance floor.


and later they got some quality time with Maw Maw and Pa



and with each other




Afterword we went out to eat. I have to post this because it so clearly shows how much Riley looks like his daddy. Oh my!


One more day left in my weekend, and it will be filled with loads and loads of laundry, cooking meals for the week ahead, and other sundry house chores, but in my mind they will be done to the sound of children playing. That's the best soundtrack I can imagine.

I guess it runs deep.

Patrick Tagged me to do this exercise:
Here are the rules:

1. Write the title to your own memoir using 6 words.
2. Post it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who tagged you.
4. Tag 5 more blogs.

"Mennonite to Mennoday in 28 years"

Does it count if the person who tagged me helped in the creation? I think so.

I now tag Fish, the Twins (you each need to do one!), Nikki, Dottie, and Rae.

Of course, I would love it if you all did it.

The Festival of the Bluegrass

Another year, another festival. Looking back, this was a very hard year. I came home early from work today so I could rest. I was doing no good at work, staring blankly into into space. And the tiredness wasn't from putting on all-night benders, as it was in my younger days. It was a deep, in-my-bones tired from working hard, chasing a toddler, and staying up much too late because of everything that needed to be done.

But I am not one to live my life in the negative. This is my opportunity to highlight the parts of the Festival that penetrated all of that exhaustion, all of that stress, and brought me to tears for its beauty.

Sophie amazed me. In the 90+ degree heat, she maintained her silliness and calm demeanor. She was charming and good and only threw two temper tantrums the whole time - both because of the heat. She slept through the nights in the tent and got her first Festival nickname, Somophamie. It was a big year for this little girl. She weathered the rain and enjoyed her time playing while letting mommy organize t-shirts at the store. Oh, and she learned two new, very important words: umbrella and golf cart.
Riley was equally amazing. He played hard, worked hard, and was incredibly responsible. On Saturday night around 12:30am, we walked back to camp after closing up the store. I told him he could wind down around camp before heading to bed. Uncle Charles joined us for some sing-alongs, and after Sunshine Superman and Brown Eyed Girl, I told Riley he needed to go to bed after the next one. He looked at me, a look of shock on his face, and said, "I think I WANT to go to bed!" Here he was, camping, singing around the fire, and yet he was soo tired. Welcome to the Festival, Riley.
Saturday night was the only night I really stayed up, going to bed around 4am. I guess first I must explain that festival time is quite different from regular time. When it's 4am, you really think it's around midnight because the activities of the day don't end until 12:30am or so, so you're still wired. This is what bites you in the ass on Monday. Anyway, that evening I laughed so hard with Miss Dottie, Neighbor Eric, Lunchy, Christo, Nikki, and I'm pretty sure Timothy was there, too. I can't say I remember exactly what we were laughing so hard about (although I do remember a pair of glow stick breasts that made an appearance) but boy, I sure remember the feeling.

(Thank GOD there's not a picture of the breasts.)

Sunday morning, I was suddenly responsible for some end of festival details after Jean went home, meaning that neither Roy nor I were available to help clean up camp. I had a chance to clean out the tent before I went to tear down the store at 9, but was totally overwhelmed when I came back to camp to find our friends rolling up our air mattresses, taking down our tents, and putting all of our stuff together. They even loaded our car so when we finally rolled out of there at 1:30 that afternoon, camp was spotless and we were good to go. I am so grateful to have these amazing people in our lives.

Miss Dottie always says that when you meet good people, you hold onto them for dear life. This year, they were my raft, my life jacket, and my lighthouse.

It's That Time!!

One of the busiest, most fun weeks/weekends of my life begins... today! I finished my library obligations yesterday and this morning head to the Festival of the Bluegrass to drop more stuff at camp and do whatever Grandma Jean needs from me. My best friend Carrie comes in from California this evening, and tomorrow we have a baby sitter ALL NIGHT. Oh goodness me. . .

But first, we had some important business to attend to.

Like getting re-aquainted with dear, out of town friends.
Looking fabulous. We seriously couldn't get these off of her.
Building the fire pit.
and preparing the tarps for the kitchen.
Can you tell his dad's a boyscout leader?

Ah, the festival... my favorite holiday.

I want to remember this moment

I can admit when I'm wrong

A number of people I love and respect have recommended I read "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. Yea yea yea, it's on my list. I'll get to it. yada yada yada.

Let me tell you.

People!

This book is aMAZing. I swear, I won't be the same after reading it.

Note the bed head

Sophie got out of bed and I couldn't wait.

I'm sew crafty!

So this weekend, I embarked on a new journey. I decided to make Sophie a dress. Well, it actually started a few weeks ago when I decided to make Sophie a pillow case dress. I pulled out Grandma Bixel's sewing machine and went to work. What resulted was, well, a very ugly something-or-other that looked like a flour sack. Hardly dismayed - in fact, inspired! - I went to WalMart to purchase some cheap fabric and a cheap pattern to make Sophie a dress. It's gotten hot here in Kentucky and Sophie usually runs around in only a diaper or nothing at all. But when it's time to go outside, I want to throw something on her. Pants AND a shirt are MUCH to cumbersome. So what I had in mind was a dress that she could plan in, get dirty, spin and frolic and just be a KID in. I must say... it's so cool.


I finished it after Sophie went to bed, so there are no cute pics of her in it, but trust me, there will be plenty!

I have to stitch the final hem, but that's it. My first sewing project is done and, I think, a complete success. Oh sure, there are lots of mistakes and I learned a LOT, but it will serve it's purpose and it was really fun to make.

This is what I learned:
1. Follow the pattern. Roy will be the first one to tell you that I do not read directions. I'll fumble through a recipe, throw bulbs in the ground upside-down and too close together, and put toys together backwards. But wow, if you don't read the instructions for the pattern, you are SCREWED.

2. Patience truly is a virtue. I'm certain there is a book out there written on the zen of sewing and I just might have to get it. It's laborious to pin and look and pin again and take out the stitches you screwed up and realize you should've left holes where you sewed and oh, so THAT'S what those little holes on the pattern were for. But it's really worth it to stop, look, take your time and do it right.

3. You can buy a dress for $5. In fact, I picked an adorable little thing up off a 60% off clearance rack this evening for nearly nothing. But it was so much fun to choose the pattern and material to make this dress, and when I see Sophie running around in the mud, splattering all over the bottom, it will make me so happy to know that all my hard work paid off. And that I can let out the hem as she gets older and she'll be able to wear it for a long, long time. Assuming the straps hold.

What a weekend!

Roy posted pictures of our weekend adventures on his blog, so no need to reinvent the wheel. I'm totally exhausted, sunburned, and fulfilled after a weekend of work, play, and being together. I commented to Roy how readily Riley will turn from the computer, TV or video games if you just give him something to do. I think we're all a little bit like that. 90% of our time this weekend was spent at the park, in the yard, or out in Sadieville.

It was a great reminder of why I love summer. I even got some lilies and hosta's in the ground, and spent time pulling weeds everywhere there wasn't poison ivy. AND, I started my first real sewing project - a pull-on, play-in dress for Sophie. Pants are just too cumbersome sometimes. I think I'd have it nearly finished by now if my sewing machine hadn't freaked out on me and stopped working.

While I am very much ready for an evening in front of the television, it's been a wonderful, unintentional, TV free weekend... and I do believe the start of something wonderful.