Say Cheese!

Just recently, when you ask Sophia to smile she crinkles up her nose and shows her teeth. What a ham! These are her posed smiles. She cracks us up. Just yesterday on Valentine's Day she became really excited about her snow boots and her ability to clomp around the house. Several times throughout yesterday and today she has wanted her snow boots on and tromps about the house.
The last few weekends Cody and I have seen movies and each time we come out of the theatre crying and then crying some more during the car ride home as thoughts of gratitude for each other, Sophia and our family come to mind. We've really got to start seeing more comedies! But in actuality, I really enjoy a good cry in a movie. I like coming away with renewed appreciation for the people, not things, in our lives.
Sophia is changing so quickly and her little spit-fire personality is just bursting through. She enjoys pointing to each side of her, whether on the floor or couch, and making an insistent noise with closed lips for Cody and I to sit beside her. She also likes to bring out her favorite toys of the day and arrange them on our laps and arms wherever we may be sitting. If we try to place the toys beside us, she scurries over and puts them back on our legs or in our arms. She loves to run to each place she is going rather than walk and her current spoken vocabuarly (she likes to do baby signing) includes: duck, truck, stuck, pop, boo!, bonk, mom, dad, and papa (Dad take note), and a variety of animal noises. We've decided she shouldn't learn too many more "uck" words before she'll be cussing like a sailor.
She is pure delight!

Winter days

Sohpia and I made our first snowman this past January. She wasn't quite sure what to think about her puffy snowsuit and each time she fell she lay there helpless. Take note of the picture of Sohpia helping place the sunglasses on Frosty - acutally she was really upset that her sunglasses were on this wierd looking mass of snow and was trying to get them off.

My mom made Sophia and I aprons for Christmas - she my best helper in the kitchen unloading the silverware form the dishwasher. Inspecting all drawers and cupboards and my best assistant up on the kitchen counter.
Our neighbor gave this tricycle to us and Sophia thinks it's fantastic. Each time she spots it in the garage on our way the car she becomes excited and has a mini melt-down that she has to get in her car seat instead of riding her bike. I kept trying to move it to an inconspicuous place, but with no success. Recently, we brought it down to the basement for easy access during the winter months. She also has her swing, that hung on the deck last summer, hanging in the basement and likes to have a daily swing.

Christmas Highlights

We had a splendid and very WHITE Christmas. We woke up to drifts up and over our fence. It was crazy and both of our mothers arrive rattled from the white knuckle drive out to the house. However, we quickly moved onto the cheer and festivities. Sophia was delighted with all of her many surpises and is captured here wrestlying with her elephant chair. After digging the snow out of the window wells and away from parts of the house we made it out to visit more family. Great memories.

Bon Appetit

I hosted my first Thanksgiving dinner this year. Of course the turkey was the easiest part to prepare but I did try a few other unique recipes from a magazine. I also gave out some assignments to the guests and everyone was happy to help. The part I was most excited about was the place settings - I got to use my grandmother's china, that I inherited, for the first time. I also gathered some wild grasses together with each guest's name and I put some fresh flowers in the tea cups that went with the china. I finally made my Martha dreams a reality. The dinner was tasty and even included such classic dinner conversation topics such as the Presidential election, Hemp legalizaiton and Prop. 8 (you have to think back to the political climate and news hypes back in November.) And while some families were wathcing football, movies, or playing games we had a mini-bioenergy healing seminar! I hope my family that reads this will take it to heart that the day was memorable and much enjoyed! (But you have to find it just a bit amusing.)

Boo!

No worries, Halloween was only 4 months ago, but I still can't believe that Cody and I dressed up; I had to document the occassion. Yep, purchased all of our accessories and outfits at the D.I. while I was volunteering there. If anyone wants to know what that's like, it's a great story. Cody's mom took a look at his hat (which says, '6th Annual Open Golden Mining Tournement Elko, NV 1987') and said, "Your dad have that same hat." Classic. Sophia of course is so cute in her Duck outfit.

The Done's are alive.

I've considered closing my blog down. The way I just said that sounds like I'm shutting down a business in our failing economy. Point is, I'm terrible at keeping this thing updated. I've decided to do a big run down and try again. By the way, I have enjoyed cathing up on everyone else's lives. Thanks for staying on top of it.
The past few months I've been on a project kick. Actually, let me correct that by saying I always have projects strewn about the house, but with Christmas approaching I was busy sewing. I've been on this quilting kick made 4 fairly large quilts for gifts this Christmas. I love picking out the fabrics and seeing how the pattern comes together. I still have much to learn about quilting, but I was surprised at how they turned out. The problem with this hobby is that it's expensive. Not to mention I keep acquiring more patterns and fabrics to make quilts, but have not sat down to actually work on them much at all this month. With some inspration and nudging from a friend I am thinking about starting a small business with an idea I have...I'll let you know if it becomes a reality.

Another project was on Halloween Day (I know that was months ago, since it's an update you get some old news.) Cody and I decided we needed to restain our front door before snowfall came. A project that Cody thought could be done in a couple of hours took a couple of days...like they always do. Our door had weather damage and when we sanded it I don't think we got the varnish off thoroughly so in some places the door soaked the stain right up and in other places it hardly absorbed. Long story short I decided to antiuque the door and I was totally surpised and please with how it turned out. I also finally made my fall nut wreath (pictured on the door). No worries, I've only had the bag of nuts stored in my project tub for like 3 seasons now, alas it's done.

Pumpkin Festivities

One benefit of living way out west is that you can go to a local pumpkin farm and pick out your own pumpkins. This used to be, and I say used to be, my favorite pumpkin patch, because you could pick up a wheel barrow and scavenge through the field for the perfect pumpkin and then cut if off the vine yourself! (Cutting if off the vine yourself is the best part I think.) But this year they had the field cleared and all the pumpkins lined up in rows. They still have lots of neat tractors to climb on and Sophia still got to ride in the wheel barrow. Good times this fall.