Dodge Family Pics

We had a fun Thanksgiving this year. We were able to go to Ashton's family dinner in Cedar and mine in Santa Clara, so that was nice. Usually we can either do one or the other! We had the whole Dodge family together so we got some good pictures.

thankfulness

i guess i'll jump on the whole "thankful post" train. mostly because i feel like i have tons to be thankful for, and this is the perfect time of year to remember everything i am blessed with...
-SOPHIE of course! and a direct quote from ashton, "the best thing to ever happen." and i could not agree more!
-more about sophie, the fact that she is such a good baby! i don't know what i would do if i got one of those cry all the time babies! i would not be able to handle that! just one hour of her crying straight when she got a bladder infection was too much for me!
-a beautiful basement to live in for FREE and the opportunity to catch up and build our savings.
-amazing families that we can live so close to and hang out with all the time!
-ashton's friends, they are amazing. they would do anything for him, and i am thankful they influenced him to be the great guy he is today!
-the fact that ashton has a job. sure he had to start THE DAY sophie was born, which was so hard, but how i could complain???
-my education and all the doors it has opened for me..... someday maybe it will pay off. i jsut need to be patient
-my parents. having a baby makes you appreciate them so much more!
-ASHTON the best husband and daddy ever! how did i ever get so lucky?!?!?
-my friends, i am not the best at making new friends, but i still have my longtime ones i know that i could go to for anything and i know we'll be friends until we die!!!!
-i know i would have never said this back then, but i am thankful for the five years that ashton and i got to spend dating and that we didn't get married right away. we had tons of fun experiences and i had some growing up to do!
-my brothers, they are all so unique and fun i just love them.
-my experiences, good and bad. they have made me a better person and hopefully a little bit smarter!
-a totally easy and fun pregnancy! it just makes me want to have ten more babies!
well there is so much more! but i'll save that for another day. everyone have a happy thanksgiving and remember everything you are thankful for!!!

unfortunately, fortunately

lately around our house it' been this....................

...... rather than this lovely face i love so much....

unfortunately, sophie has a bladder infection. fortunately we finally know what is wrong with her! after a few days of nonstop crying and sleepless nights (so unusual for our happy perfect little soph) we took her to the doctor. my hunch was that she had reflux. when we took her in the doc said that he read a study where a high percentage of babies that were taken to the doctor for unexplained fussiness had a bladder infection. i was thinking ya right, well i guess we'll see. sure enough she had blood, white blood cells, and bacteria in her urine. poor little sophie. just some advice for other mommies out there. if your baby is really fussy and you don't know why go get their urine analyzed! i'm just happy that my life isn't over and she's going to get better so i can actually dare to leave the house with her again. yay for doctors! one that finally took the time to do some tests to actually figure out what was wrong!

changin

i thought i'd do a little 2 month old sophie update. here ya go
-she can sit up in her bumbo chair all by herself, but she doesn't really like it.
-according to our inaccurate measurements she weighs about 12 lbs.
-she grows so fast she only gets to wear each outfit about one time :(
-she cries more than she used to, but still not very much.
-she would rather be laid on the ground than held, this makes me feel like a bad mom because i rarely get to hold her, but hey i figure if she's happy then it's ok...
-she is wearing her three month clothes.
-she's totally a daddy's girl.
-she sleeps a lot
-if she is ever crying i set her on her changing table and she instantly stops crying and starts smiling. i think it's wierd, but i can't complain about having a quick fix!
-she loves our "story time" i read to her and she smiles the whole time... until she falls asleep.
-she looks us in the eyes and smiles. real smiles.
-she still sleeps in her bassinet next to our bed. her crib seems so far away...
-i wake up in the night and her arms or legs are always totally sticking out the sides of her bassinet.
-i let her sleep with me in our bed in the mornings after about 6 am, something i said i'd never do, but i can't resist snuggling her.
-she is already so HYPER she gets that from her dada. her arms and legs get going a million miles an hour all at the same time. sometimes she just kicks one leg so my dad calls her kickstart like she's kicking a dirt bike.
-she loves to lay in her playpen and she laughs at the monkeys that hang above her in it.
-she always stares at the same spot upstairs at ashton's parent's house. baby jayden also stares at this same spot and so does poindexter the cat. this creeps me out. GHOSTS!!!
-she makes the cutest sounds when she sucks on her binky.
-but she'd rather suck on her hands than her binky.

ok enough already!! can you tell i love this girl? she's my best friend :)

sophie's blessing day

yesterday was such an awesome day! we got to bless sophie! she looked like a little princess in her pretty little blessing dress. she woke up that morning so happy she was smiling all day! we were nervous that she would cry during her blessing, but she didn't cry at all. ashton gave the MOST BEAUTIFUL blessing that i have ever heard!!! he is the best dad and i can tell he loves sophie so much! i love watching him with her, it's the most special thing in the world. i wanna thank all our family and friends that came. literally half of the congregation were people there for the blessing, it was awesome to have such good support. then we had a fun lunch after at our house. it was a great day thanks everyone!!!