A look back...

Wow. I can't believe another year has come and gone so quickly! A LOT has happened for Taylor and I this year. The year started off with me being 8 months pregnant and flying down to Florida to visit Grandparents. Then a few short weeks later, Sophie made her arrival. On 3/10/10 to be exact!! I had my best friend Hailey here with me, which made the already special event even more special. My parents and MIL arrived shortly after she was born. When Sophie decided she was coming, there was no stopping her and she has been stubborn ever since!!! Nobody can warn you about becoming a parent...they try...but until it happens to you, you have no idea. Several times this year I have found myself in tears over the love that God has for me. After becoming a parent, I can understand a small portion of unconditional love. I cannot imagine giving my daughter to save someone else. And yet that is exactly what God did. She has been the sweetest blessing I could have ever received. She was an unplanned surprise, but those are always the best right?? The first few months were a rollercoaster to say the least...but with a lot of prayer and sometimes crying, we made it through! LOL. Summer rolled around and I couldn't even imagine my life before Sophie. It's like she had always been with us, our little sidekick! She is such a "dada's" girl and tries to imitate everything Taylor does. She just turned 9 months and has a clean bill of health. For that we couldn't be happier. I thank the Lord everyday for her health and strong will. I do believe that will take her far in life..ha ha! I hope she never settles and dreams big! I know the Lord has an amazing plan for her life! As we are about to celebrate Christmas, I look back over this year and realize the only gift I need is the love of my family and the blessing that is my daughter. Thank you Jesus for the gift of life eternal. For grace and mercy and unconditional love. Happy Birthday to You!

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas from The Culbersons!!

So, I'm doing a pretty terrible job of keeping this updated. But here are some recent Sophie pictures to enjoy! :)

She is *almost* crawling. She army crawls EVERYWHERE! And she is fast too! She will eat anything you give her. We haven't found one thing she doesn't like. Her favorite restaurant is Cracker Barrel, because she can pig out on mommy and daddy's food. She loved the grits...weird baby. She is doing really well. Growing like a weed. She weighs 20lbs, not sure how long she is.

2010-12-01

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Daddy and Sophie

Daddy teaching Sophie all about the MacBook!

Slacking...

I know I've been a HUGE slacker when it comes to updating this blog. But I'm going to TRY and do better. Here is a short update on us: We all 3 are doing great! Sophie is growing and exploring more and more everyday. She talks up a storm. AND she just cut her first tooth!! Taylor and I will be celebrating 5 years a week from today. It's hard to believe we were married 5 years ago. Wow, have we been through a lot in that short time! Taylor will be taking on a new and exciting challenge in January. He is cross-rating to be an Intelligence Specialist. We don't know what the future holds, but are excited to begin this new chapter. He will have several months of schooling and then we will probably be moving. The only downside is he will miss Sophie's first birthday. But such is military life!

That's just a little update on us! As always we love and miss our family back in TN!

6 months!!

Sophie is 6 MONTHS today. Can you believe it? I wish more than anything I could just freeze time right now.

It's been SO long!

I know I haven't updated this blog in forever...I guess motherhood has really taken over my life. But I'm not complaining! :) So much has happened and changed for the Culberson clan. Sophie is growing so much, she is already 17 weeks and I just don't know how that happened! Our life now revolves around her, but we love every minute of it!!

We have been experiencing extreme heat here in NOVA, it's actually quite miserable. The air quality is so bad. I've just kept Sophie inside the past couple of days.

Sophie is changing so much everyday. I feel like I turn around and she is doing something new. She has rolled over, but only once...and yes both Taylor and I missed it!! Little stinker!! Her nighttime sleeping habits have improved drastically! She goes down between 10/10:30 and sleeps till 9 or 10 the next morning (sometimes later!). She has her 4 month check-up next week and I'm hoping we can start her on cereal, although, I have to be honest, I have given her cereal a few times and she LOVES it. I think she is ready to start eating more solid foods. Her favorite way to play is just laying in the floor, kicking around. She is holding rattles and other toys, but still doesn't understand how to "use" them. But her most favorite thing is being outside! She loves the pool. Actually she loves water in general.

Well, maybe I can start keeping this blog more updated. I'll leave you with a few pictures of Sophie... ;)

More Sophie...

Look at our little ham! hehe
I love my daddy!

Pretty in purple.

First night @ home.

Going home from the hospital...yay!

Baby, baby, baby!

Sophie is 1 week today!!
First family picture.

Proud daddy.

First time holding her.

Our precious little angel.

On March 10th @ 6:29pm, Sophie Renee was born. She was 6lbs 1oz and 18inches. She looks exactly like I did when I was born, black hair and blue eyes. She is so beautiful!! Her daddy and I are in love with her. She is doing really well at home. She eats and sleeps well. She is starting to smile and coo at us. Can't believe it's already been a week, time really does fly. Thank you everyone for the thoughts, prayers, well-wishes, and congrats. We love you all!

34wks!

Tomorrow (Friday) I will be 34 weeks. 6 more weeks to go!! So far I'm still doing good. My back pretty much kills me all the time though..lol. Right now that's my only complaint. Sophie is still very active, I wonder if this is a sign of things to come? Last night she was moving around for her daddy...but everytime she would move he would say "eww"...I told him that's why she doesn't move...hehe. Taylor did say he couldn't wait to have Sophie so he had something to "snuggle" with...because I had Maverick and he feels left out. (Don't tell him I said that...haha). Well, that's just a small update on us...can't wait to see everyone this weekend!!

2010 Blizzard

On Feb. 5/6th we got about 22 inches of snow during this "Snowmegeddon". Other areas got over 30 inches!!
Playing around in the snow.

Not sure what I'm looking at...but it's a beautiful day!

You could literally pick up "blocks" of snow off the cars...made it easier.

Almost made it over the trucks bumper.

And we are supposed to get more Tuesday..ahhh!!

33 Weeks

Tomorrow I will be 33 weeks along. 7 more to go!! I had my Dr.'s appointment today...everything is still looking good. Miss Sophie is head down (they did an ultrasound) and her heartbeat is strong! I was feeling really anxious before my appointment, but my Dr. put my mind at ease and I left feeling a lot better. My next appointment is in a month, then I will go every week after that.

32 weeks

So I've hit the 8 month mark...it's crazy to think I only have 8 weeks. Sophie continues to stay active most of the day and sleep at night. She will NOT move for her daddy though...she refuses. I swear she is in there rolling around back and forth, but the second Taylor tries to feel her, she will quit. But he talks to her and it's super sweet. She usually stays on my right side, right up under my rib cage. If I'm being totally honest, I will be so happy to have my body back...haha.
Side view...

Alden update! How cute is he???

Mini Florida vacation.

We spent a few days this week visiting Taylor's grandparents in Florida. We had a wonderful visit and was glad to have a few warm days!

Almost 31 weeks.

:)

Exploring downtown Stuart.

Taylor and Granddaddy.

Sunday afternoon. Do you like our rental car? We had fun driving it around for a few days.

30 weeks!

10 weeks to go!!

Help Haiti.

As I watch heartbreaking footage from Haiti, my heart is so heavy for the Haitian people. I am just at a loss for words, all I've been able to do is just pray. A country that is no bigger than the state of Maryland lives in 80% poverty. They had so little to begin with and have now lost that. I don't think our American brains can even begin to understand.
I just wanted to say that we need to keep EVERYONE involved with relief efforts...from our President, to Red Cross volunteers, our military, medical personnel, etc, and most important the Haitian people and their government in our prayers. With what seems like all communications down, Haitian's here helplessly are watching TV and waiting to hear if their families are safe. They need our prayers as well.
If you feel you need to do more, you can also donate through the American Red Cross to their International Repsonse Fund. The minimum donation is just $10.00. I've already made our donation.
I'm not trying to sound preachy...but I was getting so sick of everyone complaining about the cold weather and the snow. Well, atleast we didn't have to spend the night on the streets last night wondering if our family members are somehow still alive. A little bit of cold and snow isn't going to hurt anyone! Besides, we will all just be complaining about it being 90 degrees in a few months...it's a never-ending cycle. Ok, off my soapbox.

29 Weeks

29 weeks along and I'm still able to wear my normal jeans!! Yes! hehe. I had an appointment yesterday, Sophie is growing and her heartbeat sounded strong! I survived my glucose test (which I actually thought tasted good!).