Precious Moments

Moments when I get to snuggle with my sweet girl are getting fewer and farther between. She's growing into a little toddler and she wants to be on the move most of the time she's awake. And she doesn't sleep in my bed, so I can't snuggle with her there either. Ever since she was a teeny-weeny, just two weeks old, we've been putting her in her crib to sleep. Most of the time it's great because she's used to laying down and going to sleep without any coaxing. The downside (for me) is that she sleeps alone with the exception of her blanky. If I try to lay down with her, it's playtime for her. Not sleepy-time.

So today when she wanted to sit on my lap and snuggle for a little while, I took full advantage of it. It only lasted about ten minutes, but I probably kissed her little head about 50 times. I have to get all my kisses in when I can, she doesn't sit still for very long.

I know she's growing fast and I want to soak up each precious moment I have with her. Speaking of precious... here's a sneak peek of what you may see on a Christmas card.



I'm so excited to see the pictures we had taken recently for Christmas. I do have the best photographer ever, so they should be great!

Sophie's First Birthday!

Wow! Time has flown. Just one year ago I was experiencing the miracle of a new baby in my arms while trying to figure out this whole new motherhood thing. In this first year, I've learned that motherhood just happens. You can read books and take advice from other moms, but there are times when you're on your own with baby and you figure out how to do it. It being a mother. And you get this overwhelming sense of accomplishment that bubbles inside you. You just want to yell, "Look Mom, I did it! I did it all by myself! I'm a mother too!"

As the months go on, motherhood sinks in and becomes a natural feeling. Diaper bag inventory is written on your brain, feeding and napping queues become obvious, and you can read your child like a book. Making your way through the obstacle course that is your living room becomes your new aerobics class. And lullaby music through the baby monitor is your new coffeehouse jam.

Nonetheless, I wouldn't trade my little Sophie-bean for anything. It's been an ajustment this year, but I feel like I'm finally fitting comfortably in my role as a Mommy.

In my role as a party planner, I still need a little adjusting, but I think her parties went well this year. Sophie had two birthday parties - one small (we couldn't completely skip her actual birthday) and one big.

The first one was on the 30th. We had a super-cute strawberry cake with strawberry icing, topped with chocolate dipped strawberries. Can you tell what Sophie's favorite fruit is? We also had her favorite dinner - turkey tacos. We had fresh tortillas, ground turkey, cheddar cheese, black beans and avacado. Of course the adults had Sheldon's homemade salsa. Yum!















The second party was on Halloween! We had a baby costume party. Everyone was adorable. Instead of describing everything, I'll just let you see for yourself.

















All of the gifts were awesome and Sophie had a great time opening them. She seemed to enjoy every bit of each party. I was so happy she didn't get cranky... I should have known, she's my little social butterfly.

Happy Birthday my little sweetheart!!

New Favorite Toy

Sophie's great grandpa showed up at our house for Sophie's birthday party with a brand new red wagon. Sophie and I were in town shopping and when we got home and she saw her new toy, she was immediately drawn to it. She wanted to know how the door worked, how the wheels worked, and how the handle worked. She investigated everything about it and finally sat down in it ready for her ride.

As with all her other toys, I thought she would lose interest within a couple hours; however, four days later she's still lovin' it! We took Sophie on a walk in her new wagon and she sat contently for about 40 minutes while we walked around the neighborhood.

She sits in her wagon while I cook dinner. She sits in her wagon while I clean the kitchen. She sits in her wagon while I fold laundry. And tonight she wanted to be carted to her bedroom in style... in her wagon. Thanks Granpoppa Anderson! We love our new toy.

A parent's job is to monitor, right?

With Sophie growing in and out of phases so quickly these days, I began to wonder when we wouldn't need to use a monitor in her room anymore. And then I thought, what would it hurt if we left it in there until she moves out? When she's old enough to know what the monitor is, I could just hide it under her bed. Yes, yes, this could work! I was starting to like my sneaky little plan until I realized I would be sending my daughter to college some issues. Possibly paranoia.

So I guess I'll be taking the monitor out of her room at some point, I'm just not sure when. The teenage years are when it starts to get interesting though...

First days with two babies...

It’s been an adventure so far. Sophie is adjusting to having another baby in the house. Josiah is adjusting to having a curious little kid picking at him all the time. Sophie is learning the word “gentle”. Josiah is learning that the word “gentle” apparently means something other than gentle.

I’ve had all extremes this week. Both babies sleeping… ah sweet silence. Both babies screaming, one tugs on my leg while the other is in my arms. Both babies quietly playing and one baby awake while the other sleeps. When there is chaos however, it usually only lasts a short while. I’m adjusting to a new schedule and so are the babies, but it has been a lot easier than I thought it would be. My sanity is still in tact… at least for now.

Some improvements have been made. Monday, Sophie was totally put out that I was feeding another baby; but today however, she lay on her own pillow and fed herself her bottle while I fed the littlest one. One eye was always on Mommy though. Sophie still throws little fits when I’m holding Josiah, but they’re getting shorter so I’m hoping we’re making progress in that area.

Side note – this morning when Sophie was throwing a little “hold me, not him” fit, I realized that it’s naturally impossible to have babies as close in age as Josiah and Sophie are. There’s probably a reason for that.

No matter what happens during the day though, both babies are loved very much. And that’s why I can’t stop taking pictures of them! They’re so cute! Here are some of the ones I took this week.









There is chaos and there is peacefulness. At the end of the day we all had fun and we’re all exhausted, especially the Mommies.

No Tears

Yesterday I dropped Sophie off at school (Mother's Day Out) and she didn't cry... at all. Not one tear. That's supposed to be a good thing, but Mama misses her girl. She's doing great though. This week was the third week of school for Sophie and she's come a long way.

On the first day of school everyone in the building clearly knew that the world was ending from the way my child was crying. It broke my heart. I had to walk away and tell myself that she would be taken care of and have fun. The second day the world wasn't ending, but the sky was definitely falling. The third day, a small little "wah" snuck out, but was quickly haulted once Sophie saw her new friend playing in the classroom.

So we're at the end of the third week and my sweet girl didn't even look back, even when Mama said goodbye. It's bittersweet. She's not afraid to go to school anymore, but it's one of the many times she'll let go of Mama in her life. That's what every parent wants - for their child to be independent, that doesn't make it any easier for the mamas and daddies when their babies leave. At least I still have 17 years before she's really on her own!

Our big girl is finding her freedom in other ways too. She finally has a tooth! She has been eating finger foods since she refuses to let Mama or Daddy feed her from a jar. This week she tried strawberries, cantaloupe, guacamole, cheese ravioli, and grilled chicken. All successes except the ravioli. Like her mama, Sophie's favorite finger food is bread.

We bought Sophie's first walkin' shoes this week. She's so close to walking! It's exciting and a little sad. My baby is slowly becoming a toddler. She loves her new "big girl" shoes. The first day we bought them I was changing her diaper and had to take them off. It struggled to get to diaper back on because she was fighting me to put her shoes back on. She gets this big smile when we have to put her shoes on to go outside. Here's a picture of her cute, new shoes. And some pictures of our cute girl.

So, um...

I haven't had much motivation to write lately. I'm still looking for a teaching or writing position; however, I dread the thought of leaving my baby girl at daycare all day. Getting used to living on one salary instead of two (yes, I'm still getting used to it after five months) has caused us to tighten our belts and live on a budget, which in turn has caused a temporary spending freeze. Good friends moved to another city and more good friends are leaving the country soon!

On the upside, two beautiful babies were born this month to dear friends of mine and another is due any day now. My little girl continues to be full of surprises. And I'm still trying to make the transition from career-minded woman to stay-at-home mom, but I'm cherishing every moment I get to be at home with Sophie.

Here are some fun, recent pictures.


Sophie, just chillin' before her nine month photo shoot. Such a rock star.


Miss Thang loves to cruise around the couch and end tables.


Friend Ian holds Sophie's water for her. Such a nice little guy. We miss you!

Animal Crackers and Brand New Pampers

That's what Sophie smelled like when I picked her up from the Y daycare last Thursday. It smelled so sweet to me. I wondered if she always smells like that and if I just don't notice it anymore.

I used to love the way her clothes smelled. Dreft detergent makes all baby clothes smell, well... like babies. But now that it's a constant chore in my house to wash baby clothes, I don't notice it anymore.

I try to imprint pictures in my mind to last forever. I don't want to forget what her silky, baby-fine hair feels like or how adorable her chubby little baby cheeks are. I want to remember how she sits on the floor studying a new toy with her little, nubby baby toes nestled behind her and how excited she gets when Mommy and Daddy play the "geeter" (get her) game with her.

My sweet little girl is growing out of her baby stages and soon she'll be a little toddler. She is loving sharing food from Mommy and Daddy's plates, she walks along furniture, and stands up any chance she gets. She can say "hi" and she waves at most people. The little bean is such a social butterfly. She loves to meet new people and go places. One day in the house and she acts as if we've kept her locked up for weeks, smiling from ear to ear when she sees her car seat or the stroller.

The girl had her nine month appointment on Friday. Her official weight was 15 lbs. 10.8 oz. Almost 16! I bet if she had her clothes on we could have made it to 16 lbs. She's 27 inches long. And she's full of energy. We had a hard time keeping her occupied in a small room while we waited for the doctor for an hour, but she did great. Especially when the lab person was taking blood from her heel for what seemed like an eternity... at least to Mama it did.

In nine months we've had some huge changes to our lives, but parenthood is pretty much second nature to me now. And I love it. Do I want more kids? Ask me in a couple years.

Stinky Summer School

I miss Zumba! And my friends, and playdates, and shopping, and enjoying my time at home with my baby girl, and blogging! I can't wait for this class to be over... only eight more days and I'll be back! Woohoo!

Until then you probably won't see anything new or exciting on this blog, but you can check anyway.

Love you! Miss you!

All at once!

For weeks Sheldon and I have been awaiting the moment when Sophie would take her first true crawl steps. Over a month ago she started moving by pushing herself backwards with her hands. Then she learned to pull forward. Her next feat was learning how to balance on her hands and knees. Once she got that down, she wouldn't stay on her knees for long. Her movement forward was more of an "army crawl" or some type of "fish flop". Or she'd wobble on her knees for a bit and then flatten out on her belly.

Early this week she took her first real crawl steps, two or three in a row! By the end of the day she was crawling across the room. Two days later she decided she could pull up in her crib on her knees. The next day she was standing in her crib!

As a mom I'm thinking, whoa! Too fast... you're learning way too fast. My little girl is growing up all in one week! Pulling up leads to walking and walking leads to walking right out of babyhood and into toddlerhood.

Some recaps from Sophie's busy week...
Once Sophie learned she could crawl anywhere in the house, mommy learned that there are way too many things that could harm baby in crawl's reach.

Sophie pulled the doorstopper cap off the doorstopper - Mommy took it away. Sophie pulled the doorstopper out of the wall - Mommy thought, "how did she do that?" and then took it away.

Sophie's perspective: Sophie helped Daddy clean the kitchen.
Daddy's perspective: Sophie pulled herself up to the dishwasher and banged on the dishes while Daddy cleaned the kitchen.

Sophie found an electrical outlet and was one millimeter away from sticking her pinky in one of the holes before Mommy bolted across the room to stop her.

Out of a room full of toys, Sophie found the one item that had an electrical cord attached to it and decided it would be fun to chew on the metal prongs.

Sophie crawled under one of our barstools and pulled herself up to standing position holding onto the legs of the barstool. She was so pleased with herself. She stood under the barstool, a little wobbly, grinning from ear to ear.

As for bumps and bruises... Sophie has hit the floor, an end table leg and the dishwasher door this week. It breaks my heart every time she falls. I don't know if I can handle her learning to walk!

Here are some pics of Sophie's successes this week:

Swingin' Good Time

Our neighborhood has a cute little playground that I've been excited about using since I was pregnant with Sophie. It's not that big, but it's the memories of my parents taking me to the park when I was a child that make me want to experience that with my baby girl.

I remember my dad standing on the ladder end of a really tall slide telling me it's okay and that I wouldn't fall. I went down the super high (at the time, I'm sure) slide and that was the beginning! I was addicted to slide-riding. I had no fear of the gi-normous slide any longer partly due to the fact that my dad said I wouldn't get hurt and he knew everything.

Well, Sophie's not old enough to ride the really tall slide yet, but she is old enough to hold herself up in the swings! We went to the park on Thursday, camera in tow, and swung in the baby swings. She had so much fun. The first time I put her in the swings - maybe a month ago - she just scooched down in the swing making her little concerned facial expression. This week she was all wonder and smiles.

Here are a few of my favorites of the little chickity.

Who is Michigan?

For about three weeks now different men have been texting and calling me asking the random, "what u doin'" and "whassup". When I reply that I don't know who they are, they ask me if I'm Michigan. I have no idea who this "Michigan" character is or why she (I assume she) is giving out my number to all these men.

My little theory is that Michigan is a fake name and some lady who wants to experience her wild side is going out under this name and then giving men her "fake" phone number when she departs...therefore leaving me to deal with all these poor guys calling for more...whatever.

The first guy who texted me told me that he must have left his "...wallet in the hotel room last night." He was nice enough to apologize for "getting the wrong number." "Phew," I thought. Thank goodness it's documented that it was a wrong number and my husband didn't happen to stumble upon that text! How would I explain that?

The next two guys, especially the last one, have insisted that I am Michigan. Neither apologized for getting the wrong number. Instead they continually call hoping that maybe some strange lady is actually answering Michigan's phone and that the true woman they were with will pick up one of these times. Ugh! So annoying!

Well, I am not moonlighting as "Michigan". And the woman behind the phone number that Michigan so freely gives out is getting tired of fielding her calls. So if you're Michigan, stop giving out my number! Find another "fake" number to give out.

Meanwhile, in my normal little life, my baby girl is growing everyday. She'll be seven months old on Saturday! Here's a picture of her on Mother's Day. My sweet girl.

Tired Momma's Dinner

Sore from a body shaping class the previous day, scatter-brained from re-organizing a guest room, and tired from daily care-taking of a precious little girl, I find myself staring into the pantry wondering what I might eat for dinner at 8:30 p.m.

Chili? No, too much preparation. Ooo, an omlet! Nah...I would have to shred cheese. Yogurt raisins! Those sound good, but I can't just eat yogurt raisins for dinner. I know, soup would be perfect. Open the can, pour into bowl, microwave. Voila! After rummaging through the pantry for a few minutes I realize my soup must have disappeared into thin air. One last option - a lean pocket. Perfect! Two minutes and dinner is ready.

So that's what I had - a lean pocket and some yogurt raisins. For dessert? Two super-yummy chocolate truffles...my Mother's Day gift to myself. And I'm ok with that. I get to eat my dinner in my PJs relaxing to lullaby music through the baby monitor.

Before I finish off my turkey-cheese pocket and sign-off to wash bottles, here's a cute picture of my little cutie!

Parents' night out

So many changes occur when two worlds collide. Our previous D.I.N.K. (double-income, no kids) world collided with Sophie’s world. Sometimes it feels like it’s only Sophie’s world and the independent-adult-do-whatever-you-want world no longer exists.

I love my daughter more than there is space on the internet to it explain how much I love her, but sometimes I want to creep back into D.I.N.K. world for a few hours. It’s like peeking behind a curtain while this other life is going on and thinking, “When should I go back in… during the long shower, during the night at the movies or during the long sleep-in on Saturday? Ooo, or maybe I could jump in during the evening out at the fancy restaurant!”

Last Saturday Sheldon and I got that chance to “jump in”. Thanks to our awesome LG friends, we were able to have a lovely dinner at 135 Prime. Everything was perfect. It was a slow-service (in a good way) meal, the lights were dim, the food was amazing, and the company…well, I’m in love with the company, so that was great too!

It was a much-needed peek into another lifestyle. I fully enjoyed the evening out with my husband and I also fully enjoyed coming home to my precious little girl. Life is good.

Can she talk?

Two times this weekend, I was asked the same question by two different little girls. I found the answer obvious, but then I realized a child wouldn’t necessarily know the answer. Can she talk? And then after I explained that Sophie is too young to talk just yet, I thought that sounded weird coming out of my mouth. She “talks”. The better word would be “communicate”, but I really feel like Sophie already talks to me.

I know when she’s happy or sad or hurt or excited by her body language and her cries or giggles. I know what she’s thinking by how her eyes look at me. They tell me she wants me to pick her up, that she’s anticipating me tickling her, that she’s tired or she’s mesmerized by something new.

How neat is it that we get to “learn” a new person without them having the ability to speak? A mother knows her child inside and out before he or she can say what he or she likes or dislikes.

So if the question is ever asked again, my answer will be, “Yes, she just doesn’t use words yet.” Unless she is using words by that point…and then the answer will just be, “Yes,” in which case this will be a moot point.

Just one of my thoughts of the day…

Pretty Blues

To our surprise our little Sophie-bean has the most beautiful blue eyes. Sheldon and I have brown and hazel eyes so we thought, naturally, our daughter would have brown eyes.

Still, a little hope remained in the back of my mind because both of our parents (one in each set) has blue eyes and their parents have blue eyes. The genes were there, but I figured brown eyes were always dominant. I felt like it would be silly to pray for my daughter to have blue eyes, especially since what I cared most about was that she was healthy and fully developed. Little did I know that God listens to the littlest of wishes.

Sophie is almost six months old and her blue eyes have just gotten lighter since her birth. I love them. Any chance I get I try to get pictures of my sweet girl's little face.

This week we took pictures in the bluebonnets. We got some good shots of the the bluebonnets and some close-up shots of Sophie's pretty blues.

Milestones

So many milestones, so little time to record them! Sophie has been chuggin’ right along this month on reaching some important milestones. I know they’re probably right on schedule, but it seems like time is flying by. She’s growing up so fast!

Today was her four month well baby visit with Dr. M. Everything went well. She weighs 11 ½ pounds, is 23.5 inches long, and her head circumference is 16 cm. She’s in the 10th percentile for her weight and 25th for her height. She’s small, but she’s healthy and the doc isn’t worried.

I got several of my questions answered regarding starting the little bean on solid foods. So starts the exciting journey of introducing actual food to our girl. We bought some rice cereal and tried it tonight. Maybe Sophie will sleep all night! Fingers are crossed! Here’s how it went tonight.

What is that?

Eww! I don’t know about this new stuff. I think it’s the texture that bothers me. It’s like beans…(haha!)

Ok, fine, I’ll try it again.

Why must you always put that flashy thing in my face? I’m trying to concentrate here.

I guess this rice cereal stuff is alright.

The other milestone this past weekend was rolling over! Sophie rolled over all by herself – from tummy to back and to tummy again. She seemed a bit shocked when she rolled the first time. Arms were spread wide across the floor and eyes were wide open.

I didn’t catch her in the rolling motion, but here are some cute pictures after the fact.





Sophie’s also reaching for everything in sight and throwing little fits when she doesn’t get what she wants. It’s crazy! If it seems like I’m trying to cram all her milestones in one post, it’s because I am. She’s changing so fast I’m afraid these milestones will be outdated before I get a chance to blog again. My little punkin-head will be toddling around before long and all baby-ness will be lost!

I just put her in a 3-6 month size onesie today and it fit her! I was denying the fact that she was getting bigger. Apparently the neck of her onesies being stretched down to her chest when she stood up wasn’t a big enough clue.

Oh, and one more milestone (for Mommy at least) – Sophie rode in the grocery store cart without her carrier today! She sat in the kid seat in the grocery cart like a big girl. It helped that we had a “buggy buddy” – it’s a padded, fabric seat cover. It can be used in high chairs at restaurants also. It worked great and Sophie had so much fun grabbing for groceries I was trying to put in the cart. Sigh…

I want to lock all of these moments in my memory forever as vividly as I remember them today. Contrary to her stats today, my little Sophie-bean won’t be teeny-weeny for long.