Sophia is 11... and her parents feel old!

This is Sophia as a baby. She is about three months old here, I think. I really can't remember. And I never, ever imagined I would forget anything when she was this age! She was a pretty happy baby--well ok, that is kind of a lie. This picture is deceptive--she was a little fussy. She wanted to be held ALL the time or sleep on her stomach--she was born in the wrong era for that! Since babies HAVE to sleep on their BACK until they roll--she was much happy by this time when she was rolling and I probably was too--but like I said before, I don't remember!

This is Sophia today, pictured here with yet another American Girl doll that she wanted more than a cell phone or new iPod! Her Great Uncle Tom is credited with gifting her this wonderful doll and I hope he sees the joy on her face! I am amazed and delighted to see her grow into such a creative, funny, sweet young lady. It's interesting to me that when she turned 10 last year, I didn't really get all nostalgic or reflective but 11 has hit like a ton of bricks! Must be that she is headed to middle school and into the reality of changes.

This is a family photo when she was a baby and we went to the beach. You can't really see her but the point of posting the picture is to point out that I feel old because here I look so young. And my husband looks so young! This really was one of our favorite spots when she was a baby. Fresh air made her sleep and we didn't the quiet time to walk the beach. As she grew the beach became a favorite place for Sophia.... once she was over not wanting to put her feet in the sand.

Sophia is the first grandchild on both sides of the family (although her cousin Brady on the Behrens' side came a quick six months later!). So the generation shots were fun and important. The first photo is the Behrens side of the family and she is held by her Great Grandmother Sophia Monson, the woman she is named after. The second photo is of my side of the family, just the generations of women in this photo. She is held by my maternal grandmother June Veal. My grandfather also got to know her until she was 2 and half and they were great friends!
I love seeing these photos now since two of the great grandmothers in these photos have passed away. She still has a great grandmother and great grandfather in Denver, which is the third picture of her with my dad's mom.

Sophia was born into a pretty good sized family tree with aunts, uncles, grandparents, great grandparents, and great aunts and uncles and cousins. And many of them see her regularly and love on her today! We often tease her when she does things EXACTLY like her Tia Emily (which she does often!) or her Cousin Bekah-this is new but there are some strong resemblances! But really she is her own unique, kind hearted, bright, confident self and we adore her!

So Happy Birthday my sweet girl! 

Life in the Family Tree is wonderful because of you!!

The Ice Cream Scoop

This is a picture of an ice cream scoop. Notice where it sits on the counter. I would venture to guess that many people have a pot of coffee left out on the counter during the day to be enjoyed or just waiting to be refilled the next morning. 

We have a coffee pot as well (that is often empty waiting to be filled because we drink coffee up pretty quick around here!). 

Next to the coffee pot though is another common object in this house, the ice cream scoop. Life in the family tree includes ice cream. There is not one of us who does not like ice cream. The children will eat just about any ice cream you put in front of them, but the adults are a bit more picky preferring the Blue Bell (I blame friends who hail from Texas for the introduction of this addiction--you know who you are!) variety and an occasional Ben&Jerrys.  Much like a coffee pot, which is left out in case others want to enjoy and partake of the drink,  the ice cream scoop is "an everyday tool" left out in case others want to enjoy and partake in a bowl of ice cream. 

I share this with you because it makes me chuckle each morning when I see the ice cream scoop on the counter left from the night before. No one willing to put the scoop in the sink or dishwasher just in case he/she is not the last one who needs to use the scoop that night. Or maybe not willing to put it away in an effort to make sure that he/she is not the only one who succumbs to the beckoning ice cream. It's like this little reminder that there IS something yummy in the house to eat (and there is probably more in the freezer in the garage if you happen to not like the variety in the house). 

Rob and I first learned of our ice cream addiction when we offered friends who were visiting from Oregon some ice cream after dinner. They laughed and said, "We knew YOU would have ice cream in the freezer. Every time we have ice cream we think of you because YOU always have ice cream ready to go!" Rob and I think this is totally normal. It never occurred to us that not everyone has ice cream in their freezer at all times. We realize now that perhaps we are bit spoiled and self indulgent in this way but as evidenced by the counter... we are in good company... at least in this family tree!

The 8 year old trip...

You know... that trip you get to take when your 8 where you pick the place, the sites, the food, the adventures...
               Yep, well I didn't have an 8 year old trip either! (Although when saying this to one friend of mine, she said, oh, yes--well, we were 13 for ours...!) However my lucky children get to have an 8 year old trip with their grandparents (and their cousins will get to as well they just aren't 8 yet!)

This January was John's 8 year old trip. He got to go to the Everglades in Florida because he wanted to see alligators. His goal was to see three gators--but he was pleasantly surprised because he was "Gator Good" and got to see way more than three alligators and he even got to hold one! This was a highlight for him.

I am not sure how the 8 year old trip idea got started. I think I remember my mom saying something about how wonderful 2nd graders and 8 year olds are so that must be a good age to get to spend some special time with the grandparents. We were the first to experience this event with Sophia who got to go to Williamsburg, VA to see all the places her American Girl doll Felicity would have experienced. She also got to the go the beach and eat whatever she wanted--which might be one of the most things that the 8 year old experiences! The report from the FL trip was that John's mouth never stopped moving--he was either eating or talking the entire time! I got a text at 9:30 am on the day they left telling me that he had ice cream and Papa had pizza and so it began!

There was also some time for John at the beach. I have to admit I was quite jealous of his being in 80 degree weather while I was home with cold and the threat of snow. We have heard many stories about his trip and most of them make us laugh. I hope to get a picture of him riding a camel so that I can post that as well--not only was there a camel at the zoo but he got to RIDE it! ("but you can't sit on the hump, it's full of water"). I am told there are many, many more stories as well, but we only get one a night! I love how he loves to tell stories and savors his trip by stretching out the amount of time he gets to talk about it.

Rob is wondering why he doesn't get a "38 year old trip" and that is a good question! However, I think this was a brilliant idea and it seems that 8 is a good age to embark on this adventure. There was no homesickness (they were gone Wed-Sunday) and only reports of funny stories and sweet comments given by the grandparents. So it seems that 8 is a good time to go on a trip away from home and mom and dad and sister (who missed him so much they have shared a bed the last two nights!) to have an adventure. And what a fun memory to have, spending alone time with grandparents who adore you and buy you pretzels with cheese sauce whenever you want!

Sophia commented at dinner a few nights ago--"So when's the teenager trip?"
That's my girl!