A Year in Review and Christmas Fun!

As 2011 draws to a close, I thought it'd be appropriate to reflect on the year we've had as a family. Yes, it's been one of up's and down's considering our little Sophie, but it's been such an enriching journey. And, in the end, isn't that what Christ means for us? He throws us curveballs every once in a while to build us up, right? What's important is that we rest in knowing our life circumstances are all in His hands, and he intends each one for His purposes so we're better equipped to serve Him. How exhilarating!

Sophie is now 7 months old and she's an absolute joy! Yes, there are days when the teething fussiness gets overwhelming, but the older she gets the more fun she is...as any mom knows when they have a growing babe. We've had many, many highlights over the past 7 months, but two stand out in particular. The first being an awesome day outing to Ikea during which Sophie was an absolute dream! She managed particularly well, napped in her car seat throughout the day, and even enjoyed lunch with Mom and Dad in the Ikea restaurant. Yes!! Victory!! Mat and I were just elated. When you have a babe that keeps you home much of the time, experiences of success are all the more exciting. Here's Sophie at Ikea...

Our second highlight was Christmas. With so many family coming and going, Sophie rarely played strange, but she enjoyed having so many fun people to look at and listen to. She really enjoyed opening presents...even if she did try to eat some of the wrapping paper! Sophie is one lucky girl; she received lots of beautiful gifts.

Here's a shot of Sophie and her twin cousins at Christmas...yes, they have matching outfits just to up the cuteness factor a bit. :)

It's been quite the year of emotions. Something changes in you when God blesses you with a child, you look at life differently, and for that I'm thankful.

The Dreaded Roadtrip

This one has been in the works for a while now...sorry for the delay!

It might come as no surprise that Sophie dislikes the car seat. In fact, she dislikes the car seat AND the car, unlike most babies. It's gotta be something about being confined for too long...or at least that's the theory. Prior to little Sophie's arrival, I (ignorantly) thought I'd be able to pack up the car with babe and hit the road to visit my mom in Kitchener whenever...was I ever wrong! Roadtrips with Sophie really have become dreaded. Now, I must give my daughter credit, because she has surprised me with two peaceful trips in the past 6 months, but her track record still isn't good. Here's some details on a couple of our beloved trips...

My mom and I now laughingly recall one such nightmare-ish road trip from Tillsonburg to Kitchener on our way back from visiting Great Grandma. Sophie was nearly 4 months old, it was late evening and, much to our disappointment, Sophie didn't want to fall asleep during the car ride. Instead, she felt it necessary to loudly voice her discontent. So much so that she was sweating and turning rather red in the face. Then...it happened...we started seeing break lights. Yup, caught in traffic as a result of construction...YAY! The construction delayed our trip by 30 minutes...some of the most trying 30 minutes of my life. No amount of rocking, singing, forced soother useage or white noise was calming this kid down. Thank goodness my mother is one of those patient, calm types. :) 

My most memorable trip was one where I was driving back from Kitchener in mid-July...yeah, you can probably guess what happened. It was reportedly the hottest day of the year so far, and I was driving alone with Sophie, so many stops (3...to be exact) had to be made. It took me a whole three hours to arrive back in Barrie when the trip should have only taken me an hour and 45 minutes. Good thing the radio cranks up loud, and the local Christian stations in Kitchener and Barrie kept me sane and focused! 

During those trips I really thought I was going to go nuts! However, lots of prayer, calming telephone calls to my husband, and patience got me through. Now, I can look back and laugh (sorta...) at those trips because Sophie has calmed down significantly while on route (thanks to homeopathics http://www.kids0-9.ca/calm_syrup.html...) and our road trips have become much more peaceful (for the most part...)

Ever been on a trying road trip with a little one? What kept you calm and focused on the road?