Summer Like Days

This past winter was so mild.  We hardly even had any days that required a hat and coat.  I'm not complaining though because I am not a fan of cold weather at all.  So lately our "spring" has been more like summer.  Sofia is a major fan of this weather!  When we are in the house she is cranky and acts like she is bored, but the minute we go outside she is all smiles!  Really it's ok with me cause I am enjoying this weather as well.  Since we have hung the swing she is the happiest girl on earth!!!!  She can't get enough of it!

 This is her one of her few "play outfits" :)  She either has brand new clothes or clothes that are hand me downs from my sister Patsy, and even those look too cute to get dirty.  So I made a trip I never make...to WALMART!!!! (dunn dunn dunn!)  Let me express how MUCH I dislike WALMART.... A LOT, ok.  But they do have Garanimals and they are $2.88 a piece!  Perfect for getting dirty.  What they are not is flattering on a cloth diaper ;)  

 My Instagram friends and I have decided that my hand looks really weird, purple, and shriveled in this picture for some reason.  Brad even said it reminded him of Dumbledore in Harry Potter!  Thanks Brad :)  Anyway, ignore my ugly hand (which by the way does NOT look like that in real life!) and pay attention to the adorable baby Sofia!

 This is Maggie.  One of our three pups.  Sofia and her are BFF's!  Maggie "babysits" for me and protects Sofia from the other dogs.  I believe she thinks Sofia is her baby.  She will look at me as if saying, "Ok, I got this.  You go do whatever you need to and I'll take care of the baby."  It's really sweet!  I think they will be BFF and ever!!!

We hope you all are enjoying this beautiful weather as much as you can too!  Happy Thursday everyone!

My First Trip to the Zoo!

Yesterday we went to the Nashville Zoo!  It was not MY first time (who needs a kid to go to the zoo, right???) but it was the first time for two little ones.  Sofia and her cousin, Cade.

It was so hot for the middle of March, but thank goodness there is so much shade.  If you have not been to our zoo, then you are seriously missing out!  It is beautiful.  There are no cages and what fences there are are very discreat and blend well into the environment.  The animals all look so happy!  Like they are living the good life!  Now, Sofia and Cade are at the age where they are more into the things right in front of them, such as the fences and such, but every now and then something was wonderful enough to grab their attention.  Things like elephants and giraffes!  

 Cade and Holly in front of the monkey's.  They were SO LOUD!  The funny thing was that the babies    were more interested in the water running in front of them than the ridiculously loud monkey's :) Go figure!

                                  If you look really close you can see the monkeys...right on my head :)

                                Waiting patiently to ride on the carousel.  Cade wasn't too sure about it.

Sofia passed out finally after hours without a nap, but only slept about 30 minutes!  Then she was up and ready to go again!  I don't know where girlfriend gets her energy.  


It was a wonderful day with family that is more like a best friend.  It is still hard for me to imagine sometimes that Holly and I are going together places with our babies considering I used to change HER diapers!  It is wonderful though.  I was so happy when we were pregnant together and thinking of how fun it would be to have little one's to grow up together.  I can't imagine anything better!

Sunday FuNDaY!

We have had so much fun this weekend!  In fact, at this moment I am catching up on the blog while Sofia sleeps because she is wore  out!!!!  Sunshine will do that to a gal.  

We bought her a swing yesterday and she LOVES it!  Cries like I have never seen when we take her out...and she doesn't do that with anything else.  It's actually kinda funny :)  I tried to post a video of her swinging but for some reason I can't get videos to upload.  Gonna have to work on that.  Anywho, we have played outside ALL day Saturday and Sunday and she could not be happier.  Here are a few snaps of Sofia enjoying warm weather in Tennessee!

                              Wearing the sunglasses I bought for her LAST year that just now fit :)

                                                                   This one is too funny!!!!

      Maggie is sitting patiently while Sofia eats a snack just hoping that some of it drops for her to enjoy.
                                                                           It never did :)

   Our wonderful friends Bert and Tammura have loaned us this pull behind for the bikes to use this year.                                   She didn't like this at all...can't you tell?!   She totally loved riding with the wind in her fluffy hair!!!!

                         We hope you all had as great of a weekend as we did!  See ya later!!!!!

Fabulous Friday!

Today was a good day :)

Sofia slept better last night than the previous couple of nights.  Only woke up once around 4:30 this morning, nursed, and slept until 8:15!  Go baby girl, Mama needed that one bad!!!

So we got dressed, went to get breakfast, and then made a weekly "end of the week" trip to Target.  It was nice because NOBODY was in Target!  The best time to shop.  And then it started storming so what else to do but waste a little time looking around some more :)  Girlfriend likes to ride in the shopping cart and shop with her Mama.  And she LOVES it when people stop and tell her how beautiful her smile is or comment on how happy she looks.  It makes me a little proud too.

After our little trip out for the morning we decided to go on over to my parents house to visit with her cousin, Maggie.  They were staying over while my brother in law, Jeff, worked on the addition they are adding to their house.  Good reason for us to go on over and have a little girl time!  It is SO cute to watch Sofia learn from Maggie.  She is obsessed with doing or having whatever Maggie is into at the moment.  If Maggie throws a toy, so does Sofia.  If Maggie crawls across the room, Sofia is close behind scooting her little heart out.  It's just precious.  And Miss Maggie may act like she's not crazy about Sofia being on her coat tails but we can tell she really thinks it's neat that Sofia is looking up to her since she is the one always looking up to her older sisters.  I have a feeling they will be very close :)  Here are just a few snaps from their playtime...

Maggie likes to give Sofia kisses on top of the head.

 It was not easy getting an almost 3 year old and a 9 month old to pose for pictures.  Can you tell???

I love this one!  Maggie is looking at me like, "ok, you can stop taking pictures of us now".  Too funny!!!

So these girls didn't let a little rainy day get the best of us!  No way!  We had a great Friday and it ended with Carmen's for dinner and a live Mariachi band.  So much fun!  And of course I videoed it and I plan on sharing that with you all on Monday for video day.  Tune in cause if you need to start your day with a smile we can do that for you!!!!

Happy weekend! xoxo

They grow up so fast!

 Here is Sofia this time last year.  We didn't even know if we were expecting a boy or a girl, although deep down I knew it was a girl :)

 Sofia and her Daddy!  Let me tell you, I thought this man loved me (and he definitely does!) but he LOVES her!!!!  And she LOVES him!  She lights up and smiles the biggest smile when her Daddy walks in the room.  She was about 3 weeks old here.

 She still holds her little hands just like this when she sleeps.  It's the little things a Mama notices :)

 One Month Old!!!  This picture cracks me up!  She was going to her first wedding here for her cousin Olivia.

 And now...just look at her!  24 lbs, 9 months old, and smiles all the time!!!  She is such a happy girl and that makes me proud.

 This was on my 34th birthday.  She likes Macaroni Grill cause she can color on the table!

 Sofia with her Nani and Poppi.  The "baby" of the "baby".  She's not rotten at all!

 Her first trip for the year 2012 to Arrington Vineyards for Mommy's birthday celebration with friends.  She thinks Jack is doing something funny here.  She loves to be around the older kids and watch and learn from them.  Very much a "people person"!

Here at Arrington with Aunt Jamie and one of her many boyfriends, Townes.  We are in trouble because most ALL of our friends have boys!!!!  That's ok though, it just gives her more boys to beat in golf!

When people always say that you should enjoy each and every minute with your little one because "they grow up so fast", they really do mean it!  Savor each day you have with the little ones in your life because one day she will be driving a car for the first time in this progression of photos, or going to prom (oh my!), or getting married.  All wonderful blessings and things to celebrate but it will be here before we know it.

Hugs and Kisses from Sofia Rose!
xoxo

Welcome!

This is Sofia Rose Natale.  She is the reason for my blog and I would like to welcome you to her site!  


My name is Susie and I am a 34 year old stay at home Mama.  I love my job although I do miss my career job at times.  I am also a Registered Nurse and absolutely love what I do.  But, about 5 years ago my husband, J.R., and I decided to expand our tiny family.  We had a few detours in our plan to add a baby into the mix but last year (June 5, 2011) our prayers, hopes, and dreams all came true.  Sofia Rose was born and our lives have never been the same.  She is such a happy, wonderful baby and J.R. and I now feel complete in our hearts. As you can see from her picture she smiles ALL the TIME!


I decided to start this blog for several reasons.  I never thought I would be a "blogger" and I do not claim to be a writer of any kind so be gentle to me :)


First, our friends and family really didn't have any way of keeping up with our girl other than by email or texts on the phone so I thought it would be a wonderful way for them to follow Sofia as she grows (hence the "Rose in the Garden" them).  Second, I remember just like it was yesterday, looking up blogs of parents that had struggled with getting pregnant and reading with hope that one day we too would be able to beat the odds of infertility and have a baby of our very own.  I can only hope that I can be an inspiration to someone out there and to let them know to NEVER give up hope.  You will get your little angel in time as well.  It will come.  Patience took a lot of prayer for me to receive but when I finally gave in to the ways and words of the world and put my full faith in God that is when I found out we were soon to be a Mommy and Daddy.  Never give up on the power of our God.  He is WONDERFUL and does WONDERFUL things!!!!!!  I cannot express this one enough!  Last, I wanted a way to keep a journal of sorts for my little Rose.  I want her to look back on all the things we all did with her as she grew up and enjoy reading and seeing all the people who love her and I thought this would be a great way to do that.


So, grab your sunglasses and beverage of choice, kick off your shoes and walk through our garden.  I hope you see all the beauty I do here.


xoxo
Susie