Happy 1st Birthday Harper!

Lorae and the birthday girl, Harper!

Sophia scoping out the party
(thanks Ava for the picture!)

Em and Sierra posing with us.
(thanks Em for the picture!)

Sophia fixing Erin an egg.

Erin reading to Sophia.

Heading to the party.

We had a wonderful time celebrating Harper's 1st birthday! It was so much fun to see lots of little ones and to share this special occasion with the Heffner's.

Welcome back, babies!

Lorae and Harper, Laura and Spencer, Em and Sierra, Sophia and I, Mrs. Guan (Ping's mother) and Lydia

We had a fun picnic with several other WFS families and as you can see, lots of babies were present! It was great to reconnect with everyone after the summer break and to see how all the little ones have grown.

9 month photos

Movin' and Groovin'

Sophia is nine months old and full steam ahead! She has had a great time being back home exploring her house and everything in it. We have also returned to the Little Gym and what a difference a summer makes - Sophia was able to crawl and climb all over the place when we had our first class on Thursday.

Sophia is such a happy girl and these are some of the latest pictures of our little star.

"Hey Mom!"

Sophia is very happy about her 9 month birthday - yeah!


"This chair is just right!"
Rocking at Granny Herndon's.

Our little doll - Sophia playing in her toy basket.

Movin'

Bath time

Our weight lifter in training.

Back at the Little Gym - cruising down the "cheese" mat.

Annie and Neil's engagement party

Posing with the bride and groom-to-be.

Annie and I

I love this shot...

the girls

the guys

Last night we had a great time celebrating Annie and Neil's engagement at the Lewis' home in Glen Allen. We had a lovely dinner and it was wonderful spending time with my best friends and their families. It is such an exciting time for Annie and Neil and we can't wait to hear more wedding details --

On a side note: Allie kept Sophia so we could attend the party and I have to admit that I was a little worried Sophia would not remember her, but, to my relief, as soon as Allie and her 19th month old son Will walked in the door Sophia got so excited. She crawled right over to Allie and started playing. It was so much easier leaving knowing that Sophia was happy and in such good hands. :)

Homecoming

The most relaxing place in the world.

Grammy posing with Sophia and her antique bicycle.

In Rhoadesville you spend a lot of time swinging -- and yes, Sophia has her own swing!

Cooking with Grammy and Pop. Sophia where is your apron?

Playing at the playground...

more playing...

Sophia having her first taste of Granny Herndon's homemade blackberry cobbler - yummy!

Dessert time! Granny Herndon came down to Rhoadesville Saturday afternoon.

Watching Pop blow bubbles.

Snuggle (and snack) time with Granny Herndon.

Getting ready for Homecoming...again, we are in a swing. :)

Phillip, Miles, and Cassidy. My cute little cousins.

More cousins. Sophia and I with three generations, Terry, Elaine, and little Asa.

And, more cousins! Another three generations, Lynette, Gail, Andrew and Joe with Sophia, Cassidy, and I.

Grammy Gram and Sophia

Cousins!

Yeah, we're home! And our first weekend back we had a relaxing weekend with Mom and Dad at Rhoadesville to celebrate Homecoming. No, not our homecoming but the 121st Homecoming of Rhoadesville Baptist Church, the home church of my extended family.

Time for a brief history...

Rhoadesville Baptist Church is located across the road from where my great-grandparents lived. My grandmother (and her 3 brothers) and my grandfather (and his 6 brothers and sisters) grew up next to each other so, that means my grandfather married the girl next door. After my Gang-Gang (my great-grandmother on my mother's side) passed away my parents bought her house. It's a quiet little get-a-away for my Mom and Dad and a great place for family to gather. Many of my extended family members travel back to Rhoadesville for Homecoming every second Sunday in August and it is always good to catch up with lots and lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins.

The pictures above are from the great weekend...

Family 5K

Sophia and I getting ready for our first 5K!

The starting line - so beautiful!

Sophia with Daddy before the race

Our sweet girl

Sophia and I after the race...we are both a little tired.

Time to relax at the pool

Sophia is very happy to be at the pool!
(this is her new "sniffy" face when she gets really excited :)

Our water bug!

On Saturday Raph, Sophia, and I all participated in the annual Charlie Orr Memorial 5K Fun Run at Bread Loaf. This was my first time running in a race...ever...but it truly was a fun run! The race took us through the Bread Loaf campus and up and down Frost Road and the weather could not have been more perfect. I felt so proud crossing the finish line with my family and I hope this is the start of many more fun runs!

After the race we went to the pool to relax --