.....I moved to a new town and started a new job and my kid learned to walk and I had to set up a new apartment and a new classroom all within 2 weeks. Consequently I lost my mind and neglected blogging and cooking and doing my hair for about the last month, but I'm back! I'm myself again, my hair looks pretty decent and there is already dinner in the crock pot. Score!
Big news #1, we LOVE Manhattan! My school is amazing, my daycare provider is amazing, and this is a positive-feeling and fun town. Yay!
Big news #2, my itty bitty baby turned 1. She is no longer a bitty baby full of cooing and tiny little burps. No, now she is a walking, clapping, belching, laughing, babbling tiny person! I love watching her every day.
Sophie, you are such a big girl now! You weigh about 20 pounds, and you still have teeny tiny feet. You still wears size 2 or 3, which are usually labeled 6-9 months. Later in life when you see a shoe sale, all of the good shoes will be size 6 and 7. You will be thankful later for those tiny feet! You have 8 teeth and you love to nibble on cheerios, puffs, and most fruits! Your favorite things are mandarin oranges, banana, blueberries, kiwi, cherry tomatoes, pasta, yogurt, meatballs, chicken and whatever mom and dad are eating. You will eat almost anything we are; the other night you ate salmon and you loved it! We said bye-bye to bottles and formula this week and whole milk it is; you love it! So does our budget baby girl, so thanks! You find almost everything funny and you have a cute little giggle. You like to "talk" to us about really important things, like world politics or quantum physics, but we can't understand what you are saying yet. But you will carry on a babble conversation for about 10 minutes!
You walk really well, and you like to clap your hands and to pretend to talk on the phone. You give high 5's, (sometimes) blow kisses, and you nod your head every time we ask you a question. Which is pretty funny when we ask you "Do you want to eat all of your vegetables? Do you want to help mama clean the kitchen? Do you want to pay for your own college tuition?" You love to play with your pink blanket, your dolly, and anything that makes music. You are timid in loud social situations with lots of people, but you warm up after about 20 minutes and will play with anyone.
I could never imagine our lives without you. You were worth every bout of heartburn, every sleepless night, every uncomfortable day, every painful contraction, and every intense push to get you out so I could hold you and love you and kiss you and be your mommy. Thanks for being my baby, I'm so proud to be your mommy :) Happy birthday baby love!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Moving Is Hard....
Well, its official. We are residents of Manhattan, KS! Its hard to be away from friends, most nights after Sophie goes to sleep we watch lots and lots of Netflix and try to organize our house full of stuff into our 2 bedroom apartment....not an easy task! I start teaching one week from today, and let's just say its going to be DIFFERENT. More relaxed, a more comprehensive math program, letter grades, and time for science and social studies! Crazy!
Sophie has adjusted REALLY well to her new home, and has a great play area in the front room. Speaking of MOVING, she never sits still! She is always crawling, cruising along the couch, and moving toys from one place to another. She's not brave enough to try walking alone yet, but does really well holding our hands. Her bedroom/the office is coming together, and once that's done I'll post pics of the new digs. Until then, enjoy this video of our monster!
Sophie has adjusted REALLY well to her new home, and has a great play area in the front room. Speaking of MOVING, she never sits still! She is always crawling, cruising along the couch, and moving toys from one place to another. She's not brave enough to try walking alone yet, but does really well holding our hands. Her bedroom/the office is coming together, and once that's done I'll post pics of the new digs. Until then, enjoy this video of our monster!
Monday, July 25, 2011
10 months
All photos in this post are the beautiful work of Dac and Alisha Call over at http://dacandalisha.com/blog/. We have had 7 sessions with them over the past 4 years, and we have loved every single one! Not to mention they are also friends of ours. They always makes us feel relaxed and laid back, and they capture the most beautiful pictures. OK, now on to Sophie......
Oh my Little Sophie Lou Lou,
Happy 10 month birthday to you! (Ok, it was last week, but we are moving in 7 days and I've been neglecting my sit-on-couch-and-blog time, sorry dude). At your 9 month appointment you weighed 18 pounds and 8 ounces, and you were 26 inches long. Sometimes you are shy and somber-faced, and sometimes you cheeze it up with big grins. You still have bright blue eyes like your Daddy, and you give sweet, sloppy open-mouth kisses any chance you can get.
Every single day you amaze me with all that you are learning and doing. I went to Texas for 4 days earlier this month, and the day I left you were just starting to pull up on the furniture and stand. When I came home to you, you were pulling up like you had been doing it for months, cruising along the furniture, and even standing alone for a second or two. You are going to walk any day now, SLOW DOWN LOVE BUG!
You love upside-down time, playing patty-cake and peek-a-boo, and bath time is still a highlight of your day. You are officially the Splashing Princess of Cowley County! You also smile REALLY big when we sing songs to you. You can say mama and dada, and you point to Porkchop and say "dah!" so we think its dog. Now Porkchop has a new home, and you will sometimes look for him saying "Dah? Dah?" We are working on clapping and waving bye-bye.
My FAVORITE thing you do right now is "read" books to yourself. You pick a book (its usually upside down, but we can work on that later), and then you sit and turn the pages and babble a little for each page. "Bah da ma da be dah. Turn page. Do be dah ma ma. Turn page. Yah de urdle bah!" HILARIOUS. Trying SO HARD to catch this on video, but once I grab the camera you stop....I'll get you soon!
You have 5 teeth, and you are such a good little eater. You have never spit anything out and you love trying new foods. You do kind of hate baby food now; you have moved on the bigger and tastier things. Your favorite foods right now are toast, yogurt, carrots, mandarin oranges, pears, pasta, and chicken. You always want to eat what we are eating, and you also REALLY like to *share* and put your food in Mommy and Daddy's mouths (sometimes after its been in your mouth first, in which case we may exaggerate how yummy it is).
Mommy has let go a little and lets you hold your own bottle, which you are a pro at. (I know, I know, most babies do this MUCH earlier, but I couldn't let go!) I still love giving you your bottle; I miss nursing a little and crave that cuddly bonding time with my babe. So we compromise and I let you hold your own bottle except before bed. That's Mommy time :)
You also can drink with a straw and you are getting the hang of the sippy cup.
You are the very best thing I have ever made. I don't want to brag, but I made some STUNNING collages of magazine clippings while I was in high school, as well as a needlepoint of an angel....with the word ANGEL under it in case people couldn't figure it out. It's hard to beat those, but you my dear are the very best of your daddy and me.
We love you, we are so proud of you, and I can't wait to watch you grow more. You probably learned to walk or drive or speak Spanish or something while I was typing this, so I'd better go check out what you're up to. Love you to the moon and back.
Oh my Little Sophie Lou Lou,
Happy 10 month birthday to you! (Ok, it was last week, but we are moving in 7 days and I've been neglecting my sit-on-couch-and-blog time, sorry dude). At your 9 month appointment you weighed 18 pounds and 8 ounces, and you were 26 inches long. Sometimes you are shy and somber-faced, and sometimes you cheeze it up with big grins. You still have bright blue eyes like your Daddy, and you give sweet, sloppy open-mouth kisses any chance you can get.
Every single day you amaze me with all that you are learning and doing. I went to Texas for 4 days earlier this month, and the day I left you were just starting to pull up on the furniture and stand. When I came home to you, you were pulling up like you had been doing it for months, cruising along the furniture, and even standing alone for a second or two. You are going to walk any day now, SLOW DOWN LOVE BUG!You love upside-down time, playing patty-cake and peek-a-boo, and bath time is still a highlight of your day. You are officially the Splashing Princess of Cowley County! You also smile REALLY big when we sing songs to you. You can say mama and dada, and you point to Porkchop and say "dah!" so we think its dog. Now Porkchop has a new home, and you will sometimes look for him saying "Dah? Dah?" We are working on clapping and waving bye-bye.
My FAVORITE thing you do right now is "read" books to yourself. You pick a book (its usually upside down, but we can work on that later), and then you sit and turn the pages and babble a little for each page. "Bah da ma da be dah. Turn page. Do be dah ma ma. Turn page. Yah de urdle bah!" HILARIOUS. Trying SO HARD to catch this on video, but once I grab the camera you stop....I'll get you soon!
You have 5 teeth, and you are such a good little eater. You have never spit anything out and you love trying new foods. You do kind of hate baby food now; you have moved on the bigger and tastier things. Your favorite foods right now are toast, yogurt, carrots, mandarin oranges, pears, pasta, and chicken. You always want to eat what we are eating, and you also REALLY like to *share* and put your food in Mommy and Daddy's mouths (sometimes after its been in your mouth first, in which case we may exaggerate how yummy it is).
Mommy has let go a little and lets you hold your own bottle, which you are a pro at. (I know, I know, most babies do this MUCH earlier, but I couldn't let go!) I still love giving you your bottle; I miss nursing a little and crave that cuddly bonding time with my babe. So we compromise and I let you hold your own bottle except before bed. That's Mommy time :)You also can drink with a straw and you are getting the hang of the sippy cup.
You are the very best thing I have ever made. I don't want to brag, but I made some STUNNING collages of magazine clippings while I was in high school, as well as a needlepoint of an angel....with the word ANGEL under it in case people couldn't figure it out. It's hard to beat those, but you my dear are the very best of your daddy and me.
We love you, we are so proud of you, and I can't wait to watch you grow more. You probably learned to walk or drive or speak Spanish or something while I was typing this, so I'd better go check out what you're up to. Love you to the moon and back.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Messy Spaghetti!
Yummmmm, aren't the messiest foods the funniest to give babies? How does spaghetti get in her hair, her ear, and her diaper all within 20 minutes?
We've taken the leap to table foods and there is no looking back, baby girl loves spaghetti, macaroni, cottage cheese, yogurt, grilled chicken, potatoes, you name it she'll devour it! Every stage is fun and new and I can't explain how my heart swells watching this little bug discover her world.This is my favorite baby.
Well, I don't mean Sophie is (although she is my favorite, duh). This is early morning, messy face, goofy hair, barefoot, only wearing a onesie and a diaper Sophie. And she is my favorite. She looks up at me with that big cheesy grin and I need to scoop my heart up off the ground. She babbles about turtle-durdles and giggles at the wall. And she's my sweet baby bug, and I couldn't be more in love.I love our quiet mornings together, it won't be too long until she's sleeping until noon and going out with her friends and thinking I'm a total idiot just because I'm the mom. For now, we giggle together and stack blocks and play patty-cake. Can't she stay small forever?
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Video Bomb
Just uploading videos of what we've been up to this last week. Mostly Sophie has mastered crawling with the speed of a torpedo, and has now moved on to pulling up on any and all furniture...and her crib....and my leg.....cruising is not far off for our big girl!
Disclaimer: please ignore the huge mess of baby things in the background, we hadn't cleaned up from playtime. My house is not usually this gross.
And just for kicks, a video of music time and one of her laugh attacks. Enjoy!
P.S how funny is that thing she does with her hands when she is *really* excited? so hilarious!
Disclaimer: please ignore the huge mess of baby things in the background, we hadn't cleaned up from playtime. My house is not usually this gross.
And just for kicks, a video of music time and one of her laugh attacks. Enjoy!
P.S how funny is that thing she does with her hands when she is *really* excited? so hilarious!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Little Miss Crawls-a-Lot
We. Are. In. Trouble! Sophie Lou is MOBILE and getting places! She will be 9 months old in about a week, and she is growing and changing every single day! She can get from one end of the room to the other really well, and constantly tries to be Porkchop's best friend...he's not that into being friends, but they're working on it. Coming soon: video!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Book Review
Little Lou Lou loves to read books. She also tends to chew on, throw, and hit books, but I can tell she enjoys playing with them! When we read at night she is catching on to "The end!" and always looks up at my face with a huge one-toothed smile. Some of our favorites are The Very Hungary Caterpillar, Gossie and Gertie, and Go Dog Go! Here is her latest review of the caterpillar book. :)
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
A Day in the Park
Ahhh, summertime is here! The end of the year was a tad hectic, but another school year is in the books and now my only concern is to take Sophie to the park, to swim with Sophie, to play with Sophie, and read my Kindle. Did I mention hang out with Sophie? We took a family walk to the park a few evenings ago, she loves the swing and slide (with Daddy, of course).
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Spash-a-palooza 2011
Bath time is so.much.FUN! Lou Lou loves playing and splashing and getting her face wet. Sweet water baby! I can't wait to take her swimming this summer!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Jump up, jump up, and get DOWN!
Maybe its just because she's my kid, but this made me laugh and laugh and laugh!
Also, coming later this week, an in-depth book review of "Hungry Caterpillar" by Sophie Lou
Also, coming later this week, an in-depth book review of "Hungry Caterpillar" by Sophie Lou
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Princess Cupcake
Greeting royal subjects,I am Princess Cupcake, the princess of all that is Easter and all that is pink. I, along with my trust bunny friend, will rule with baby babbling and will provide cheerios for all. Until I'm tired and cranky and then I will let mommy take over ruling the kingdom. Being a princess is hard!
She almost gives me a cavity....how fluffy and girly and obnoxious is this dress? Eek!The Easter bunny came and gave Sophie her first picture Bible, and some chocolate bunnies (for mommy, no?) and a new toy to chew on. Its so hard to imagine next year she will be able to look for eggs and eat ham and say "He is risen indeed!"
7 months looks good on our little Lou, still no teeth despite a month of teething. She loves food food food food food, and kicks her little feet and waves her arms when she sees the baby spoon. She also had her first cheerios this weekend, which she really likes! She sits on her own all of the time now, and even tries to crawl a little when she's on her tummy. She's getting the idea, slowly but surely.
She LOVES her babysitter, and is happy as a clam almost everyday I pick her up. As great as Abby is (and she is AMAZING by the way) I'm counting the days until school is out and I can hang with Sophie every day! We've got lots of summer plans, including going to the park, going swimming, visiting Nana, and spending time in intense prayer that someone will buy our house.
Maybe this week I will have some job news? Stay tuned, I will keep you in the loop.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
And she sits upon her throne
Sorry for the little posting break from blogging, I blame state assessments and general stress. Not that there's anything stressful about moving in 3 months, nobody looking at our house, no place to live in Manhattan yet, no job for me, no financial aid secured for Tim, and I ran out of diet coke yesterday. Are those things stressful??
Oh, and this makes me smile today: the Pioneer Woman is getting her own cooking show on Food Network! I LOVE her! I may consider getting cable again just to watch it.......
Sophie is growing and changing and becoming more and more awesome every day!
She sits totally unsupported now, which is just cute; she's like a little person now instead of just a baby. My aunt bought her this ridiculously adorable chair with her name on it, and she loves loves loves sitting on it and watching the world. She also will sit in front of a mirror for about 30 minutes playing with her reflection. Cheapest babysitter I can find!
Her official 6 month pics are back and they are SOOOO beautiful. I honestly cried happy tears a little because they just captured her so perfectly. Hop on over to On the Wall Photography and look at the blog to see my little beautiful girl. More pics to come soon!
6 months came and went, we gave her some cake to celebrate. Just kidding, she got a tub of sweet potatoes instead. I'm pretty sure she thinks about them the same way I think about cake! Her hands shake, and she kicks her feet, she smiles and opens her mouth SUPER big. If you've ever eaten cake with me, you'd see the resemblance.
She is DESTROYING food now, and she loves (almost) everything we give her! Green beans, avocado, sweet potato, squash, oatmeal, apples, and pears! We crossed apple juice and peas off the list, those are NOT delicious according to her.
She's such a happy baby, and being a mommy is just.....divine. I was designed to do this. I'm FAR from perfect, and my patience needs some more work, but the joy and purpose this girlie girl gives me....its better than Standard of Excellence in BOTH reading and math (teacher friends, you know how life-changing THAT can be). I'm already looking forward to growing our family more.....ok not THIS MONTH, but sooner rather than later!
Oh, and this makes me smile today: the Pioneer Woman is getting her own cooking show on Food Network! I LOVE her! I may consider getting cable again just to watch it.......
Sophie is growing and changing and becoming more and more awesome every day!
She sits totally unsupported now, which is just cute; she's like a little person now instead of just a baby. My aunt bought her this ridiculously adorable chair with her name on it, and she loves loves loves sitting on it and watching the world. She also will sit in front of a mirror for about 30 minutes playing with her reflection. Cheapest babysitter I can find!
Her official 6 month pics are back and they are SOOOO beautiful. I honestly cried happy tears a little because they just captured her so perfectly. Hop on over to On the Wall Photography and look at the blog to see my little beautiful girl. More pics to come soon!6 months came and went, we gave her some cake to celebrate. Just kidding, she got a tub of sweet potatoes instead. I'm pretty sure she thinks about them the same way I think about cake! Her hands shake, and she kicks her feet, she smiles and opens her mouth SUPER big. If you've ever eaten cake with me, you'd see the resemblance.
She is DESTROYING food now, and she loves (almost) everything we give her! Green beans, avocado, sweet potato, squash, oatmeal, apples, and pears! We crossed apple juice and peas off the list, those are NOT delicious according to her.
She's such a happy baby, and being a mommy is just.....divine. I was designed to do this. I'm FAR from perfect, and my patience needs some more work, but the joy and purpose this girlie girl gives me....its better than Standard of Excellence in BOTH reading and math (teacher friends, you know how life-changing THAT can be). I'm already looking forward to growing our family more.....ok not THIS MONTH, but sooner rather than later!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sitting and bottles and baths, oh my!
I'm sure its not news to anyone that I'm disorganized, and I have AGAIN lost the battery charger for our camera battery. Luckily, I found one on Amazon for $4.00, so its on its way, but that explains the lack the cuteness quota for the month. I'll make up for it with some videos instead!
Sophie is 6 months old now, and she's SO.MUCH.FUN! This stage of learning and exploring and smiling is so funny. She sits unsupported now, and with the occasional flop over she does really well! Bath time is now a 20 minute playtime, and she loves watching water being dumped out of a cup. It makes her giggle so much; I doubt she will be so easily entertained in the years to come. She will also pass a toy from one hand to the other over....and over....and over...and over....and then look at me with a huge grin.....she's such a cute goober!
She likes to hold her own bottle, but isn't too efficient yet. We're using the sippy cup in the evenings for practice and she loves being Ms. Independent! She also LOVES food; we've moved on to cereal in the morning and food in the evening. So far she's destroyed avocado, green beans, sweet potatoes, and we're getting ready for butternut squash tonight. Again, she likes to help feed herself and hold the spoon, and again she's rather inefficient, but it makes for funny pictures (that I will take next week after my battery is charged!)
So here are a few videos of the bottle holding, and bathtime, and sitting in her new chair (thanks Aunt Cissy! She LOVES it!)
Sophie is 6 months old now, and she's SO.MUCH.FUN! This stage of learning and exploring and smiling is so funny. She sits unsupported now, and with the occasional flop over she does really well! Bath time is now a 20 minute playtime, and she loves watching water being dumped out of a cup. It makes her giggle so much; I doubt she will be so easily entertained in the years to come. She will also pass a toy from one hand to the other over....and over....and over...and over....and then look at me with a huge grin.....she's such a cute goober!
She likes to hold her own bottle, but isn't too efficient yet. We're using the sippy cup in the evenings for practice and she loves being Ms. Independent! She also LOVES food; we've moved on to cereal in the morning and food in the evening. So far she's destroyed avocado, green beans, sweet potatoes, and we're getting ready for butternut squash tonight. Again, she likes to help feed herself and hold the spoon, and again she's rather inefficient, but it makes for funny pictures (that I will take next week after my battery is charged!)
So here are a few videos of the bottle holding, and bathtime, and sitting in her new chair (thanks Aunt Cissy! She LOVES it!)
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Steps of Faith....
Warning: this post is long. Like, longer than I ever planned to blog. But I've never written about this topic, and I feel like doing it now. And on the interwebz, you can say whatever you want. Its also about how I feed my sweet daughter. Nursing. Breast feeding. If you don't care to read about that, there's still time to bail. Head over the facebook and see how everyone's farms and mafias are doing instead. Or, jump over to foodgawker.com and look at the fantastic food. I visit daily and drool. Still reading? Ok then, here goes!
Ok, so this is less about nursing and more about how God has grown my faith over the past year. Last December (2009), I didn't even DO Christmas. My iPod has over 500 Christmas songs. I usually live for Christmas! We had no tree, no music, no cookies, and no decorations. I wasn't pregnant, AGAIN, and I wanted to just sit in my pit of despair, please. We had 13 negative tests at that point, and I was in a low place.
I know some people may read this and say "What is she complaining about? That's nothing!" and I agree; lots and lots of women have had a harder and more emotionally difficult time with pregnancy. But this was huge for me. And when you're in the low place, all you seem to think about is yourself.
In early January I went to KC with my jewelry girls, and the morning we were leaving I took negative test #14. I left grumpy, but tried to not stay that way. Rally was fabulous, the fellowship was needed, but I still felt abandoned. We came home on a Saturday night, and I felt weird and off, so I took another test. Then I took another one. The next morning I took another one. ALL 3 WERE POSITIVE. You would think I would jump up and down, right? I should have, but I didn't. Instead, I feel deeper into my dark place, haunted by the thought of "OK, so when will I miscarry? When will this be taken from me?"
Someone (or many someones) must have been praying for me, because I slowly began to feel like this was going to be a good thing. Worrying about losing her instead of celebrating the miracle was crazy. I was going to have this baby, she was going to be mine. I also felt she was a "she" from the beginning. Weird, no? I just kept thinking about Matthew 6:27 about how worrying cannot add one hour to your life. I'm not good at memorizing verses. I get the main idea, but the reference is usually lost on me. This one included. I had to google the reference. Just being honest here, folks!
So, jump forward a year. This January I had a 3 month old love bug baby girl. Sophie. I may have mentioned her once or twice in previous posts? She's pretty much perfect. And I love her more than I thought humanly possible. That first second I held her I felt like I KNEW her. We had to wait to get her, and she made those 14 negative tests seem so insignificant.
Are you really still reading this? Dang, you are either a dedicated reader or nosy. Both are acceptable :)
Anywho, my faith is still being stretched and tested every day. I make EXACTLY enough milk to feed my baby at the babysitter the next day. It seems like so little, but she eats 2 4 or 5 ounce bottles during the day. And that is EXACTLY what I can pump. And she's still such a chunky monkey! On the days I've gotten ahead, it seems she has a growth spurt and eats is all. One day I left work with only 2 ounces pumped, freaking out. Then, she had an extra long nap after school, so I decided to pump and what did I get? 8 ounces. That's a lot for me in one session! Like manna from heaven, my God is good.
Formula is great; I'm just cheap and want to keep nursing. In all honesty, there are lots of days I just want to throw in the towel. It would be 100 times easier not to nurse. I want to eat a full 30 minute lunch. I want all of my plan time back. I never want to hear the wa-woosh, wa-woosh of my pump again. But then I think about how much I love our bonding time nursing. And about how it costs nothing. And about how good it is for my love bug.
I no longer have any milk stored in the freezer, and we have a can of formula in the cupboard for when we will need it. But so far, I can provide exactly what my baby needs. It is ONLY exactly what she needs, no more, but its working for now. I even freaked out and met with a lactation specialist, who did give me great ideas and suggestions, but I still can't get a stockpile in the freezer. And that makes me WORRY. Which I'm not SUPPOSED to do. When will I learn?
Sorry if I overshared. Its a problem of mine. Thanks for reading. Blogging is like therapy sometimes!
Ok, so this is less about nursing and more about how God has grown my faith over the past year. Last December (2009), I didn't even DO Christmas. My iPod has over 500 Christmas songs. I usually live for Christmas! We had no tree, no music, no cookies, and no decorations. I wasn't pregnant, AGAIN, and I wanted to just sit in my pit of despair, please. We had 13 negative tests at that point, and I was in a low place.
I know some people may read this and say "What is she complaining about? That's nothing!" and I agree; lots and lots of women have had a harder and more emotionally difficult time with pregnancy. But this was huge for me. And when you're in the low place, all you seem to think about is yourself.
In early January I went to KC with my jewelry girls, and the morning we were leaving I took negative test #14. I left grumpy, but tried to not stay that way. Rally was fabulous, the fellowship was needed, but I still felt abandoned. We came home on a Saturday night, and I felt weird and off, so I took another test. Then I took another one. The next morning I took another one. ALL 3 WERE POSITIVE. You would think I would jump up and down, right? I should have, but I didn't. Instead, I feel deeper into my dark place, haunted by the thought of "OK, so when will I miscarry? When will this be taken from me?"
Someone (or many someones) must have been praying for me, because I slowly began to feel like this was going to be a good thing. Worrying about losing her instead of celebrating the miracle was crazy. I was going to have this baby, she was going to be mine. I also felt she was a "she" from the beginning. Weird, no? I just kept thinking about Matthew 6:27 about how worrying cannot add one hour to your life. I'm not good at memorizing verses. I get the main idea, but the reference is usually lost on me. This one included. I had to google the reference. Just being honest here, folks!
So, jump forward a year. This January I had a 3 month old love bug baby girl. Sophie. I may have mentioned her once or twice in previous posts? She's pretty much perfect. And I love her more than I thought humanly possible. That first second I held her I felt like I KNEW her. We had to wait to get her, and she made those 14 negative tests seem so insignificant.
Are you really still reading this? Dang, you are either a dedicated reader or nosy. Both are acceptable :)
Anywho, my faith is still being stretched and tested every day. I make EXACTLY enough milk to feed my baby at the babysitter the next day. It seems like so little, but she eats 2 4 or 5 ounce bottles during the day. And that is EXACTLY what I can pump. And she's still such a chunky monkey! On the days I've gotten ahead, it seems she has a growth spurt and eats is all. One day I left work with only 2 ounces pumped, freaking out. Then, she had an extra long nap after school, so I decided to pump and what did I get? 8 ounces. That's a lot for me in one session! Like manna from heaven, my God is good.
Formula is great; I'm just cheap and want to keep nursing. In all honesty, there are lots of days I just want to throw in the towel. It would be 100 times easier not to nurse. I want to eat a full 30 minute lunch. I want all of my plan time back. I never want to hear the wa-woosh, wa-woosh of my pump again. But then I think about how much I love our bonding time nursing. And about how it costs nothing. And about how good it is for my love bug.
I no longer have any milk stored in the freezer, and we have a can of formula in the cupboard for when we will need it. But so far, I can provide exactly what my baby needs. It is ONLY exactly what she needs, no more, but its working for now. I even freaked out and met with a lactation specialist, who did give me great ideas and suggestions, but I still can't get a stockpile in the freezer. And that makes me WORRY. Which I'm not SUPPOSED to do. When will I learn?
Sorry if I overshared. Its a problem of mine. Thanks for reading. Blogging is like therapy sometimes!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Jump-a-roo Lou
My.baby.is.5.months.old. Wait.......can that be right? I checked the calendar twice and its true...5 months! 20 weeks! 150 (ish) days! And I can hardly remember my life without her. I used to sleep in? Are you sure?
Introducing Sophie's new favorite spot to hang out: thankfully its not a dive bar or dirty truck stop (not that I would allow her to hang out in those places anyway, I'm SOMEWHAT of a good mother) She LOVES the Baby Einstein jumper! Sure, we have to stack 4 yearbooks under her feet so she can touch something, but she loves to be in her little "office" :) She spends a little time at the music station, then moves on to the spinning thing, then turns to the colorful rings. Busy day! Its adorable and hilarious.
(Can't get this one to turn the correct way, sorry for any neck pain you may experience) TOES TOES TOES! She LOVES her toes! They are getting closer to getting in her mouth, yummmmmm.
Um, can she be any more beautiful?
Rice cereal rocks our world lately, she's like a baby bird after each bite, opens her mouth SUPER big for more. It ends up on her hands, in her hair, ALL over but its so cute and she's so happy.
And the end result: happy, messy baby :)
My babysitter rocks and takes the kids to the park on nice days. She also lets me linger in the mornings when I don't want to say bye to Lou just yet. Thankfully there is no picture of that.
Anyway, Sophie in the swing! She's sooooo big!
Love you Lou, happy 5 month birthday!
Introducing Sophie's new favorite spot to hang out: thankfully its not a dive bar or dirty truck stop (not that I would allow her to hang out in those places anyway, I'm SOMEWHAT of a good mother) She LOVES the Baby Einstein jumper! Sure, we have to stack 4 yearbooks under her feet so she can touch something, but she loves to be in her little "office" :) She spends a little time at the music station, then moves on to the spinning thing, then turns to the colorful rings. Busy day! Its adorable and hilarious.
(Can't get this one to turn the correct way, sorry for any neck pain you may experience) TOES TOES TOES! She LOVES her toes! They are getting closer to getting in her mouth, yummmmmm.
Um, can she be any more beautiful?
Rice cereal rocks our world lately, she's like a baby bird after each bite, opens her mouth SUPER big for more. It ends up on her hands, in her hair, ALL over but its so cute and she's so happy.
And the end result: happy, messy baby :)
My babysitter rocks and takes the kids to the park on nice days. She also lets me linger in the mornings when I don't want to say bye to Lou just yet. Thankfully there is no picture of that. Anyway, Sophie in the swing! She's sooooo big!
Love you Lou, happy 5 month birthday!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Back at it......
I wish I could tell you that I haven't posted in 2 weeks because we have been doing interesting things.
Or that we've been busy feeding the homeless or making the world a better place.
Or we went on a fabulous vacation and are now tanned and relaxed.
Truth is, we are relaxed, but we have simply been boring, boring people. And I for one am quite the opposite of tan. :( Come on, summer!
The combination of Tim's concert week coming up and multiple snow days have included lots of sweat pants, book reading, and blog reading. It has been.......fabulous. :)
Sophie is even cuter than before (hard to believe, huh?) She recently found her feet and is now providing us with lots of entertainment pulling off her socks and trying to stuff her feet in her mouth. And what a chatty baby! I love hearing her tell me her thoughts on what I ate for lunch and what she thinks about Lady Gaga and where she would like to go shopping when she's older. Love that chunky monkey!
Or that we've been busy feeding the homeless or making the world a better place.
Or we went on a fabulous vacation and are now tanned and relaxed.
Truth is, we are relaxed, but we have simply been boring, boring people. And I for one am quite the opposite of tan. :( Come on, summer!
The combination of Tim's concert week coming up and multiple snow days have included lots of sweat pants, book reading, and blog reading. It has been.......fabulous. :)
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
4 months
Dear Sophie Lou,
4 months is so big! You've had rice cereal twice now, and you are more active than ever. You are also doing such a great job and entertaining yourself lately, which is fun for everyone involved. We love watching you play in your bouncer or with your rattles or even just your hands.
Things you are/do:
* chatty
* giggle box
* smiley
* hungry!
* strong willed (your tantrums are already epic!)
* grab everything
* rolly polly - both because you roll and you're chunky :)
* bubble blower
* sweet blessing
* put your hands together like you're praying
* I'm pretty sure there's a good chance you're going to be left handed....you always have that hand in your mouth, and its the one you reach for toys and spoons with. Just like daddy and grandpa Trousdale!
* doing sit ups with mommy (ummm to clarify mommy's not doing any sit ups. you do them, I just help the process)
We love you more every day Little Lou! To quote your Daddy, "Awww, baby smiles are the best part of my day!" Your smiles and giggles melt our hearts :)
Thursday, January 27, 2011
She's ready for WHAT?!?
4 months ago I had a little, tiny, sweet 6 pound 10 ounce lump of baby who couldn't hold her head up or stay awake for longer than 3 hours at a time. She had a sweet little cry and a scrunchy face. Now I have an even sweeter, happy, talkative, chunky 4 month old. She looks all over the place, and there IS a neck under those chubby cheeks! She pretty regularly sleeps through the night now, and is grabbing EVERYTHING and ANYTHING....and putting it right in her little kisser. She's a rolling baby too, rolling from her tummy to back often, and she's starting to attempt back to tummy.
Her 4 month doctor visit went fantastic....I'm don't mean to brag, but he said she IS advanced when it comes to bearing weight on her legs. Go Sophie! She had to get 3 shots in her thunder thighs, which she did not like one bit :( :( :( But, I guess polio and Hep B are worse, so she powered through.
THEN, he told me I need to start her on BABY CEREAL! No no no, big, older babies get that, not my tiny little baby girl! I thought I had 2 more months to get used to the idea of my child eating anything besides mommy milk; I'm the one that's not ready! So, being the well-read and research driven mother I am, I asked about most things I read saying wait until 6 months, and he told me smart doctor stuff about how that's true for solids like banana, but rice cereal is important for iron. He's a doctor so I believe him. So we tried it.
She LOVED it! 60% of it ended up on her bib or in her neck rolls, but she kept opening her mouth for more!
All done! Yummy! Now she's ready to have a bath and go to sleep. I love my 4 month old baby girl!
Her 4 month doctor visit went fantastic....I'm don't mean to brag, but he said she IS advanced when it comes to bearing weight on her legs. Go Sophie! She had to get 3 shots in her thunder thighs, which she did not like one bit :( :( :( But, I guess polio and Hep B are worse, so she powered through.
THEN, he told me I need to start her on BABY CEREAL! No no no, big, older babies get that, not my tiny little baby girl! I thought I had 2 more months to get used to the idea of my child eating anything besides mommy milk; I'm the one that's not ready! So, being the well-read and research driven mother I am, I asked about most things I read saying wait until 6 months, and he told me smart doctor stuff about how that's true for solids like banana, but rice cereal is important for iron. He's a doctor so I believe him. So we tried it.
She was a little nervous at first.....
Then we prepared 1 tablespoon of the yummy stuff
Daddy's first time feeding a baby! They both did awesome!
She LOVED it! 60% of it ended up on her bib or in her neck rolls, but she kept opening her mouth for more!
All done! Yummy! Now she's ready to have a bath and go to sleep. I love my 4 month old baby girl!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Splish Splash
School.drives.me.crazy.
Seriously, most days I walk my students down to the door, and then I grab my stuff and I'm out the door at 3:20 on the dot. Then I drive (faster than I probably should) to get to my Sophie Lou. She may scream in my ear and burp in my face and poop while I'm holding her, but I prefer that to some of the junk that goes on at school and gives me ulcers. Oh sweet Sophie, you don't make 5th grade boys cry by telling them they have boobs (true story from today) and you don't (poorly) tell Your Mama jokes. Instead, you smile and look cute and talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk. I know we can't tell exactly what you're saying yet, but I'm pretty sure you're telling me how much you love me and your daddy. And how you think I look SO PRETTY.
Hands down, my favorite Sophie Lou time is BATH TIME! She used to HATE bath time, but now she gets so excited and kicks her legs and squeals! She has just figured out how to splash, so now bath time consists of 20 minutes of splashing and squealing, then we can actually get clean. PS, check out those fat rolls on her thunder thighs....SO CHUNKY!
Kick those legs!
Rubber duckie, you're the one....
I love bath time!
Now my hair is clean!
Hooded towel Sophie, so fresh and so clean clean
Seriously, most days I walk my students down to the door, and then I grab my stuff and I'm out the door at 3:20 on the dot. Then I drive (faster than I probably should) to get to my Sophie Lou. She may scream in my ear and burp in my face and poop while I'm holding her, but I prefer that to some of the junk that goes on at school and gives me ulcers. Oh sweet Sophie, you don't make 5th grade boys cry by telling them they have boobs (true story from today) and you don't (poorly) tell Your Mama jokes. Instead, you smile and look cute and talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk. I know we can't tell exactly what you're saying yet, but I'm pretty sure you're telling me how much you love me and your daddy. And how you think I look SO PRETTY.
Hands down, my favorite Sophie Lou time is BATH TIME! She used to HATE bath time, but now she gets so excited and kicks her legs and squeals! She has just figured out how to splash, so now bath time consists of 20 minutes of splashing and squealing, then we can actually get clean. PS, check out those fat rolls on her thunder thighs....SO CHUNKY!
Kick those legs!
Rubber duckie, you're the one....
I love bath time!
Now my hair is clean!
Hooded towel Sophie, so fresh and so clean clean
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