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 She’s changing so fast I’m afraid these milestones will be outdated before I get a chance to blog again.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.

A New Love

Everyone will tell you that when you have a child it’s a love different than you’ll ever know. People told me that when I was pregnant and, honestly, I didn’t know what they were talking about. How could the love that I feel for my husband or my family be totally different than the love I would have for my daughter? How could it “feel” different?

Right after Sophie was born I couldn’t help but love this little person I didn’t know. It’s bizarre that this tiny little being that took up residence in the Anderson household filled my heart and I’d barely met her. I carried her for nine months, but it was the beginning.

It’s almost been four months and I’ve gotten to know the little princess that grew in my belly last year. In just four, short months I know that she will be independent, have a little fire in her personality, and she makes my heart melt when her smile turns her eyes to sparkling, blue half-moons.

And even though she spits up on me at least twice a day (seven times today!!), wakes up five times during the night for no apparent reason, cries when I’m not holding her, and makes explosive little presents for me to change several times a day, I love her more than I can explain.

And even though I have random, severe chest pains since I’ve given birth, I’m tired most of the time, I don’t have any time for me anymore, and I’ve recently learned of another “condition” I have due to the birth of the little bean, I would do it all over again just to have her in my life.

My house looks like Babies R Us exploded in it most of the time. I have words in my vocabulary that I didn’t know existed just a few short months ago. Instead of the morning Starbucks mocha, the 20-minute shower, and the opportunity to blog whenever I want to, things like the “Bumbo”, “activity gym”, and “Boppy” are the new daily necessities. But I wouldn’t change anything.

Even though I miss curling up with a book in the quiet of my home and being able to shop without considering the feeding schedule of a four-month-old, those are small luxuries to give up compared to the warmth brought into my life from my baby girl.

This new love in my life is definitely a love that I’ve never known.

Daddy's Girl

Everyone says that Sophie-bean looks like her Daddy. I agree, but I was in total amazement when I saw this picture of Sheldon when he was three months old. Wow! Sophie is definitely Daddy's girl.



And this is Sophie with similar poses at two & three months respectively. Of course, she's more petite and feminine.

Camera Shy

Saturday was Sophie's three-month photo shoot and Mommy was so excited...Sophie not so much. We bought two outfits for her and had a third wardrobe idea as well. The photographer was awesome and I'm so excited to see the pictures. The only downside to the day was that Sophie-bean decided that she would smile at no one. For an hour and a half we wore ourselves out shaking rattles and speaking in high-pitched tones to get the girl to smile. She was totally not interested. I think we got some good shots of her big, blue eyes though.

At the end of the shoot she got a little cranky. Five minutes in Mommy's arms and she was out. We decided to take some sleepy, lullaby shots for the fun of it. Apparently all she wanted was her beauty sleep because later that day she was all smiles.

Sophie's Daddy does a great job of making her smile, so the next day we took some pictures just to prove that she does actually smile when she wants to. I love the picture below.



The same day (Super Bowl Sunday), we took a picture of all the adorable little ones at their first Super Bowl! So cute!

Stuff and things...

On KD's blog she asked what was going on in one's life this time last year. Well, apparently I was doing nothing. Here's the link to the post closest to today's date. It's titled, "At a Loss for Words."

This year is a little bit more interesting! We have a little angel to keep up with. She's been on an awesome schedule lately. Now that her little bottom is doing much better, she's been eating all her milk every three hours and sleeping through the night. She's also smiling more and squealing in delight. Sophie-bean is holding her little head up now with almost no wobble. Mommy is so excited that Sophie's learning and getting bigger, but also a little sad that she's growing up so fast! Before I know it she'll be 17 and engaged...ahhh! Do as Mommy says, not as Mommy does.

Two weekends ago we had some Mommy, Daddy, Sophie time. We watched Horton Hears a Who and Sophie wore her Horton onesie. It was the very first item of clothing that I bought her. She looked so 'dorable! The movie was also hilarious. One of my favorite lines: "Good luck with your illusional superiority." That's great, I plan to use that one.



I'm glad we got some rest in, because this weekend is going to be busy. Sheldon's grandparents came to visit the girl, Sophie has her three-month pictures tomorrow, and we're having a SuperBowl party on Sunday!

Sheldon is snoring next to me and refuses to go to bed unless I do (which is sweet, I guess) so I'll leave you with some more cute pictures of our little Sophie-bean.

Look Mom, no hands!

Sophie has been making so much progress in her development – it’s amazing! But the title of this post is really for me. I survived my first week of truly being by myself in caring for my daughter! That’s one big, fat milestone for Mommy. Sheldon returned to the road this week – he was gone three days and two nights and I lived! It sounds like a simple task to feed baby and change baby’s diapers when they're dirty, but while each individual duty is easy, all of them together 24/7 for one person is challenging. Not to mention keeping the house in running order like washing dishes and bottles, doing laundry so clean burp cloths are available when needed, and cooking for yourself. On top of all that, Sophie made it to daycare on time and I made it to work on time! Go me! I salute all single parents out there. How do you do it?

While I was so happy that I was able to hold it together while Sheldon was gone, I was also so relieved when he came home Wednesday night. I knew I’d finally be able to get a night of uninterrupted sleep. He so kindly took the night feeding for Sophie-bean so I could catch up on my rest.

Speaking of Sophie-bean…she is such a great baby! Of course all parents know their baby is the greatest! I love watching her discover new things almost on a daily basis. In the past month she has discovered her hands and her feet. She can sit up with some assistance and coos all the time. And those little eyes just watch whatever you may be doing. You can tell she’s thinking about something…which raises the question, how do they think? If they don’t have a language yet, do they think in visual images or sounds? Hmmm….

This morning was fun because Sophie was in such a playful mood. We “talked” for an hour or so while she sat up. She coo’d and ga-ga’d just like she was saying real words. This is my new favorite picture of the little one. She was having a ball on her activity mat.



Yesterday was her two-month well visit to the pediatrician. It was scheduled a little late due to our travel during Christmas. Sophie is in the 15th percentile for weight (9 lbs. 14.6 oz.), 10th percentile for height (22.25 in.), and 50th percentile for head. No wonder everyone thinks she looks so little! But the doctor said that she’s grown at an average rate from her birth weight. She’s healthy, just a petite healthy.

The only concern is the hemangioma on her bottom. However, we have an appointment with a pediatric dermatologist in Dallas next week. Hopefully he’ll have a solution to get rid of it faster. If not treated, hemangiomas generally disappear on their own after several years. Since Sophie’s sore is in a sensitive area, they may be able to treat it so it goes away faster. Fingers crossed! I can’t stand to hear my little girl scream.

Well, I don’t want to end on that note. So I’ll add another really cute picture!

Sophie's Adventures

Last week Sophie visited San Antonio to be with Daddy while he was working. Sophie got to stay in a hotel room for the first time, go shopping with Mommy and eat at the Hard Rock Cafe! When Sophie wasn't eating or sleeping at the Hard Rock, she stared at an electric guitar hung on the wall. Hmmm...future rock star? Teen rebel?





Sunday was Sophie's first day to go to church...outside the womb. She did great. She got hungry toward the end of the service, but other than that, she was a sleeping angel. Here's the little girl all dolled up in her church dress.





And yesterday Sophie got to meet Santa! She slept through the whole thing, not even waking when she was taken out of her car seat or placed back in it. But it was fun! Here's Santa and the teeny-weeny.



Next week will be Sophie's first time in an airplane and in Alabama. She's visiting Nanny and Pappy Kilponen for Christmas. More fun pictures to come.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!