Sophie took a couple of steps today. Nothing concrete, more of a running forward kind of thing between me and Tom (she did the same thing from Linda to me today, but just one step) but steps nonetheless. I think that since she started walking behind the walker this weekend she is more confidant to try it without us. She even took a couple of steps holding on to just one hand. We’re really going to be in trouble once she starts walking!
My oh my, where does the time go??
I’m pretty sure that last week was a blur! I still have a half-finished post sitting in my draft folder that I need to add pictures to and post, so you’ll see these both at the same time. Once again, I’m typing at school so I’ll have to remember to actually post it later when I can get an internet connection.
So, let’s see where we left off…
Halloween was good. Sophie really had a good time seeing all of the kids out and about. We only went to a few houses though because it was freezing cold out! As an added bonus, she didn’t seem to mind her costume, so that made things easier. Megan and Aaron were in Michigan for the weekend so they 
came over for a few to see the house but then they had to get back to packing wedding stuff up to take to Florida. We actually had more Trick or Treaters this year than last (grand total of 3 last year, all neighborhood kids (well, 2 Brownells and then Doug brought his grandson Alex)) so that was nice to see all of the kids in their costume. I’ll have to make sure that Tom stays out of the Halloween candy next year in case we have more (we were cutting it close this year because I really didn’t think that we’d have many people stop by).
I went to Mt. Pleasant for a Social Studies conference on Monday and Tuesday. It’s great to go to the conferences because you get such great ideas but it sucks that I can’t bring them back to my classroom right away. This subbing thing really does bite sometimes! But, all is not lost because I was also able to pick up some SB-CEUs that I’ll need when it comes time to renew my certificate. It was really nice to stay in a hotel too – I really enjoyed coming in and having full control of the remote (you can guess who normally steals it as soon as we walk through the door!)
On Friday, Mom and I took Sophie to the city for a little shopping. We picked up a new car seat (we needed the next size up, we can barely get her in the one we have now if she’s wearing a jacket…plus, she’ll need a new one at a year anyway). We got the Graco Nautilus (3 in 1) so it can be rear-facing, forward-facing, or the back removes for a booster (can also remove harness and use it as a booster with the back). There were a few that I was torn between. The Cosco Eddie Bauer and the Evenflo (Triumph I think) both had better 
adjustable should straps (they don’t have to be rethreaded, you just move them up and down). However, I liked the Graco chest snap better (I guess it could just be what I’m used to since we have a Graco now, but it really does seem easier to unsnap). I also liked that the Graco had the built in armrests (and cup holder). The Eddie Bauer did have arm rests that moved up and down, which would be nice, but they seemed really flimsy. The LATCH system on the Evenflo was by far the best because it was easy to tighten. The 
Eddie Bauer and Evenflo reclined more than the Graco. Ahh, so you see all the choices and dilemmas (there was only a $20 difference between all three so that was basically negated in the decision-making process). We went with the Graco ultimately because of the ease of the chest snap (you do that every day but you only do the shoulders every couple of months), it was the cheapest (so cost wasn’t completely ignored), and the back removed (this would give us more flexibility with the booster option when the time comes for that). So, now all we have to do is get it in the car and we’re good to go
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It’s also worth mentioning that we did some grocery shopping too. Kroger had some awesome deals again so I was able to pick up a few things. I need to start thinking about Thanksgiving though because it’s going to be here before I know it and all weekends have something planned until then.
Saturday was Margie’s Memorial Dinner at the Pavilion. We had a great turnout – over 500 people came out to support the family. It is absolutely awesome how many people donated time, money, or food for the event and it went off without a hitch for the most part (the pig did take a little longer than expected). The food was great, the band was awesome, and we were able to raise some money for the kids but more importantly honor Margie’s memory one last time. Good times.
As you can see from the pics, Sophie is getting good at walking behind things. She also got a new table that she can stand next to and play with.
So that pretty much takes us to today (which is Monday, but who knows for sure when this will get posted). Sophie’s bottom right tooth (just to the right of the middle two) is kind of playing peekaboo and not really wanting to come out but I think it’s pretty much through to stay now. She still sticks her fingers toward the back left more to chew so not sure if she’s starting to work some molars through. The one day that I felt back there it felt swollen but then not so much the next day, so we’ll wait and see. Trying to let her cry more at night instead of going in to get her. Last night worked OK – she cried a few times but only for a couple of minutes and then went back to sleep. The tough part is that when she wakes up in the morning her diaper is so wet that I know that must be part of the reason she doesn’t get a great night’s sleep but I don’t know what else to do – we’re using a sleep diaper. Maybe 
after this pack I’ll move up to the next size so that it will maybe hold more. Speaking of sizes – I got the next totes from April and Kelly. My baby has clothes again! Well, she had clothes, but it’s always nice to have more options, especially since she is pretty firmly entrenched in the 18 month size now.
Just an FYI: Did you know that the word “gullible” is not in the dictionary?
Happy Halloween!
Sophie had a great first Halloween! She was a giraffe (perfect costume for Michigan, warm, long sleeves, and a hood!) and made a few Halloween stops for the holiday. We walked through town to a couple of houses with the Shminas and she was really excited about seeing all the other kids out…she did her mouth open/hands waving motion which pretty much means that she likes something. We even had more trick-or-treaters come by the house this year. Last year we had a grand total of 3; this year we had at least 10.
It is absolutely crazy how fast Sophie grows out of clothes. For awhile (I dunno, a month) it seemed like 12 months stuff fit her perfect…now, they’re too small and we’re firmly in 18 month clothes. Too big! She’s growing so fast! She’s a pro at scooting around the house now and pulling herself up on everything. She really likes playgroup on Tuesdays but we won’t be able to go this week because I’ll be in Mt. Pleasant for a Social Studies Conference.
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