Growing Pains

February 4, 2011, we lost the diaper. July 22, 2011, we lost the pacifier. I knew these experiences would be difficult - I didn't know they would be more difficult for me than my sweet baby girl. I mean little girl.. sigh. Sophie is quick to correct me these days.

"No, Mommy. I not a baby, I'm a Big Girl!" Generally followed by, "I can do it by myself" or "No! Let me do it!"

Every morning she joins me in my morning routine.

"I need lotion Mommy" and "Mommy, I has to have odorant too."

It's pretty awesome to see her learning, growing and discovering things on her own everyday. The hard part, for me anyway, is that everyday she seems to need me less and less. And eventually, hopefully a good 16 to 18 years from now, she won't need me at all.

I know this is a sign of being a successful parent, but that doesn't make it any easier. It's a bizarre feeling - I'm super happy that she's a social butterfly, a smarty pants and loves life, but part of me wants to snuggle her to death and never let go. I'm becoming the crazy, over-attached mom I never wanted to be. And she's only two!

Talking about her 19-year-old daughter, one of my good friends said, "You have to learn how to participate in their lives instead of controlling their lives."

I'm more than a decade away from that era in my life, but it's good advice. Especially for me, since I'm missing the baby days already.

Luckily, there will be plenty more firsts to experience with my little one. Along with losing the diapers and pacifier this year, Sophie has also had her first pedicure with Mommy and Gran and she has been to the big screen three times. She will finally eat something other than macaroni and cheese and her little conversations make me smile every day.

The happy moments definitely out-weigh the sad. I will always have sweet memories and a life to look forward to with my family. I cherish each moment with my baby chick and hubby and I feel incredibly blessed.

Two going on 20!

Anti-Foodie

Realizing that toddlers are picky eaters, I still believe I have an extreme case on my hands! The tiny tot that resides in my house is demanding, stubborn and full of flavor!

I'm beyond the point of frustration. I'm standing at the gates of anti-foodie exhaustion. What the bleep am I to do? Maybe your input can help my sitch. But first, let's go over a little history here.

As a newborn our little tiny would not breast feed. For three weeks I tried to no avail, all the while pumping milk. After three weeks, an exhausted Mommy reluctantly decided to switch to formula after her supply started to dry up. At least Sophie would drink formula, although it was tough getting her to drink the minimum amount required each day.

At nine months old, the girl would eat anything that was pureed. Anything. It was a small success and I was happy. Though this made it even more difficult to get her to drink her 24 ounces of formula per day. But she had some chunk on her legs which made me feel like I was doing something right.

Finally in our transition to all solid food, Sophie decided she had an opinion. She started narrowing the foods that she would eat. Even if they were the same foods she had eaten previously in pureed form. And yes, I tried giving them to her again in pureed form... no dice.

So here we sit. Sophie's breakfast options are wavering at three, lunch options are virtually nil and dinner is down to three. We generally dice up what we're having for dinner in smaller pieces for Sophie's plate. And we've tried making a separate meal for her if we suspect she won't like what we're eating. In hindsight, that was a dumb idea. My toddler, unbeknownst to her, cannot thrive on strawberries and macaroni and cheese alone.

What's a Mommy to do? Any suggestions? Even funny stories about other toddler food tantrums would make me feel better about myself as a mom. :) I'll leave you with this cute pic for inspiration.

Picture of the Day

Gotta find those sales!


Reading the paper with Daddy.

Hot Pink Is For Girls

Maybe there has been some confusion among the masses lately regarding colors that little girls typically wear. I never thought I would be like this, but I’m getting pretty annoyed with people calling my daughter a “fella” or “little guy” or “handsome”. She’s such an obvious diva! Hence the pink, glittery clothes and the white, flowery sandals.

Today Sophie was dressed in something similar to what she’s wearing in this picture.



Specifically, she was wearing the same hat as in the picture, a pair of hot pink plaid pants and a t-shirt with glittery pink lettering on it. To complete her ensemble were a super-cute pair of white sandals with little flowers on the straps. Um, hello… if you lack the ability to notice this much detail in close range, you shouldn’t have driven yourself to the grocery store.

I realize my daughter has very fine, blonde hair that’s not fully grown out yet so I go to great lengths to make it very obvious that she is a girl. To add to my frustration (at other people), my little sweetheart is petite and has dainty features. So out of one’s 50/50 chance to guess the correct gender, why do they look directly at her hair and think, “Well, it doesn’t have shoulder-length hair, so it must be a boy.” And then they go on to say, “What a cute little fella you got there.” Forget that the “fella” is wearing hot pink from head to toe. Argh.

So then I wonder, “Do they really think I would dress my little boy like this”? That is, if she were a boy. Bunch of crazies.

Change of Heart

If you've been around me recently, you would know that I'm pretty settled in to being the mother of one... and only one. However, something is happening. Something is changing in me. Is it my biological clock? Is it God? I don't know. But what I do know is I have this undeniable desire to have another baby... but just one more. Two kiddos would be the end of the line.

I'm not saying I want to jump in the bed right now to procreate. I'm just saying that the desire is beginning to fester. I think of many, many holiday seasons from now and I see Christmas mornings with more than one child tugging at my pj's to get out of bed. I see siblings running to find the first Easter egg of the hunt, and I see Sophie having a baby sister or brother with whom she shares a bond that only siblings share.

Maybe this is the culprit of my new found desires...



Sophie LOVES Josiah (for those who don't know, a baby boy that I keep during the day). He's a little bundle of sweetness... most of the time, and Sophie misses him when he's not here, even though her favorite words when he is here are "mine" and "no".

On the mornings when Sophie and Jojo go to Mother's Day Out, Sophie asks for him before we leave the house and she announces his name when we arrive at his house to pick him up. She kisses him at least five times a day and loves to give him hugs, pat him on the back when he's trying to burp, and push him in the swing when he's trying to sleep. All this to say, I think Sophie would love a little sibling. She'll always have Jojo, but if they get married then who would be her brother? Haha!

Word Girl

Our Little is learning so many words so fast these days. She's a little parrot, spouting off cool words that she hears everyday. It's neat to hear her hear a word and copy it for the first time. Then over the next several days she perfects her new word.

Recently she's been picking up what I call command words, like "more," "milk," and "out". This confuses me because I assume that whenever she uses one of these words, she wants what she is requesting. However, when she says, "out" while in her high chair and I begin to remove her from the high chair, she grabs fistfuls of food like I'm depriving her of her meal and looks at me like, "what do you think you're doing lady!"

What's a mom to do? Though confusing at times, it's still precious to hear new little words come out of her sweet, syrup-kissed mouth. A new favorite of hers: "No!" That one is fun. Especially when it comes out with a southern drawl. Imagine a little Paula Deen yelling, "no" about twenty notches higher than her regular pitch and you've got my daughter.

On her vocab list as of today:
Daddy, Mommy, Nanny, Papaw, Grandpa, cracker, cookie, out, milk, more, I walk (the only word she uses "I" with so far), why, water, no, book, Jack, Mable, Jojo (for Josiah), home, bath. That's all I can think of for now, but a quite extensive list in my biased opinion.

Here's a fun picture of my little Word Girl in utter protest of coming inside on a cold winter's day. Daddy was outside hanging Christmas lights and she insisted that is where she must remain. She had no interest in being inside with Mommy even though Mommy was making yummy Christmas cookies. Daddy's girl.

Sophie is walking!

I'm a little behind the times, but I still wanted to share this video from Christmas Eve. Sophie started walking all by herself like a big girl! And I caught it on tape! It was a perfect Christmas present for Mommy and Daddy.

... three weeks later to present time, Sophie's doing a great job walking. We took her to the mall yesterday and the girl walked through the whole mall by herself. Mommy and Daddy guided her direction, but otherwise, she did it by herself. So exciting!

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.