6:15

That's what time Sophie woke up this morning. 6:15. Am I complaining? Heck no! She slept for the entire night! 6:45-6:15. The end might be just around the corner! Cross you fingers, everyone!

Milestones...

It seems that I have proved myself a liar. I find that it is almost a month (longer???) since my last entry, and I still have not posted new pictures, let alone keep anyone current on the life and times of Sophie Bean. The highlights from the past month are:

1) We had Sophie's four month check up on July 14th (jeez! Can I be any later in my blogging?). She's healthy as a horse, according to her pediatrician. She is in the 95% for height, and 80% for head circumference (her body is FINALLY catching up to her noggin. I was afraid I had given birth to a bobble head). My little dumpling also came in in the 100% for weight. The doctor assures me that there is nothing to worry about, and she will burn all of her thighs (I mean, weight) off once she's more mobile. He also said that the reason why she wasn't rolling all the way over yet was because of her weight. Well, I never!

2) Sophie is slowly stretching her night in hour increments. Now, she pretty consistently makes it until 4-5 before she's up and ready for a feeding. Tony and I can ALMOST see the light at the end of the tunnel. Sleeping the entire night might not be a distant memory after all!



3) We definitely have a talker on our hands! Sophie has about a million interesting things to talk about now that she's found her voice. She babbles to Tony and I, the cat, the dog, the trees, her feet...pretty much anything within her sight line is going to get an ear full. Now, if we could just understand what she's talking about!

4) In the last three weeks or so, Sophie is also much more interested in standing. I think buying her an excersaucer might have had something to do with it (practicing being vertical or something...), but she LOVES standing on laps. She gets a huge grin on her face...she KNOWS that she is the smartest one in the room.

5) Just this past weekend was a virtual trifecta of important events. As we sat on the floor and played on her mat on Friday afternoon, low and behold, what does my little girl do but flip herself over onto her tummy. She looked up at me as though to say, "what's the big deal?". Now that she's figured it out, she won't stop, even though she still hates to be on her tummy. it seems as though I've officially become the baby flipper until she works out how to turn from front to back. By yesterday, she seems to have decided that if she was going to roll over to the right, she might as well learn to go left as well...so she did. On Saturday, Tony walked into our bedroom with Bean and announced that she had cut her first tooth (seemingly overnight, as there was no tooth on Friday). She is moderately more fussy as a result, but I have to say that the first tooth wasn't too bad (I hope I can say the same when her molars come in!). Finally, on Sunday, Tony and I gave Bean her first rice cereal breakfast (her doctor wanted us to start at four months, but I felt like that was too early). Her first attempt was, well, messy. Since then, however, she seems to really take to it. Last night, she was even leaning forward to get to the spoon sooner it seemed. Cute!

In other news, I have about five weeks left before I am officially a full-time teacher again. Tony and I were this close to having the perfect nanny. Terisa started last Monday, and worked last Wednesday as well. She unfortunately called this past Monday to tell us that her engine blew up...and she has no way of getting to Santa Clarita otherwise. It was like glimpsing Paradise and then having the doors shut in my face. So now we are back to square one. *Sigh* Its stressful knowing that we have to have someone sorted out in the next few weeks, as after September 8th, Bean will have to hang out at home by herself. Wish us luck!



Otherwise, we have been laying low and trying to stay cool. Two of our very good friends from San Diego are both due to become parents shortly (actually, our friends, Brian and Laura, already did. Now we are just waiting for Brian's sister, Becky, to have her baby). We both couples give us the word, we'll make another trek down to San Diego to welcome the new babes. The beach weather in Carlsbad will be a nice change from the Hades-like conditions of living Mojave adjacent. :)

Well, there are literally a TON of pictures that I need to post now, and I will make no promises anymore of when that might be. Stay tuned!

Where Does the Time Go?

Ah! Sophie is almost four months old already! I can't believe it! I also can't believe that I missed posting anything about her three month milestones entirely. What kind of mother am I?

Well, as of this Saturday, my baby girl is going to be 16 weeks old. July 14th marks her actual four month birthday. I keep tabs on both because I think I might be a little bit crazy. Ce la vie. But where to start? We had a great first Mother's Day. Tony made a great picnic and we headed up to the local park for the afternoon. Sophie loved sitting in the shade and watching the trees in the wind, Lucy sniffing at the grass, the clouds, everything. She is so observant and never seems to miss anything. Father's Day waas equally wonderful. Tony's awesome parents drove up the Saturday before and surprised him so that they could be there to celebrate Tony's first Father's Day with him. Sunday was spent visiting with his brother and wife. He also bought an Iphone, which has pretty much changed his life. :) Tony wanted to spend his day just hanging out with his family, so we stuck pretty close to home. He gets so few opportunities to just be with his daughter, that he couldn't think of a better way to spend Father's Day. I think he was in heaven all day!

Not too long after Mother's Day, we reached another big day...well, night, to be exact. We put Sophie to bed at her normal hour, fully expecting to be up with her at 10-11 like usual (which would be about 4ish hours of sleep...). Low and behold, we wake to hear her crying at not 11, but 2 am! Yay! The difference of sleeping for 7-8 hours instead of 4-5 is like night and day. We almost feel human again! And aside from a pretty hairy week while we housesat for some friends of ours (Sophie did NOT like sleeping at Diane and David's...AT ALL!), she has pretty consistently stuck to her new schedule. What is even better is that my amazing husband has been taking the first night feeding with her since she was five weeks old. Now that there is only one feeding, momma gets to sleep pretty much all night! We might work out a rotation, as Tony is still pretty tired when he gets up for work, but he loves the private time he gets with her each day.

What else? During our housesitting week, she also started laughing. Baby laughter is one of the sweetest sounds ever, but when its coming out of your own kid, and its the FIRST TIME you are hearing it, your heart just melts. She still only laughs when mommy or daddy are being REALLY (I mean REALLY) goofy, or she's loopy-tired, but its certainly a start. Last Monday we also snapped this photo...




...of her. I can't believe how quickly she's growing! She's also moments away from rolling over. Coordinating her arms to get out of the way when she makes her move is her biggest hurdle, but with a little help from Tony or myself, she can pretty much work it out.

In other news, Tony and I had a great Memorial weekend (except for the almost 4 hour drive we made down to San Diego...Sophie was not a fan). Tony also finally took a five day "paternity leave" last week which was awesome. He was able to stay home with Sophie last Monday while I went back to work for one day. He had a great day, and LOVED getting to have one-on-one daddy/daughter bonding time. We are also in the process of interviewing nannies, which is stressing both of us out. We've met with six women, and 2.5 of them are contenders. We have another interview this afternoon, and we are hoping to have a decision by this Friday. While (almost) all of the interviewees are nice enough, with varying levels of experience, both of us are realizing how very much WE want to be the ones staying home and raising our daughter. Currently, that doesn't seem to be an option, but we are DEFINITELY looking for opportunities that would allow one or both of us to be home with Sophie all the time. We are headed down to San Diego for the fourth, and are looking forward to some QT with his family. Our good friend, Nicole, will be in town from Texas so that she will finally get to see Sophie, and her husband (also Tony's best friend), Tim will hopefully be making an impromptu trip to meet up with us as well. In the midst of the driving and visiting, we'll also be celebrating our nephew, James', fourth birthday. Talk about time flying!

Photos will be up on snapfish in the next week. There will be TONS, as I think there is half of May and all of June to post! Hopefully, I will learned a lesson about procrastination from this! Probably not... :) Happy 4th, everyone!

A little preview, to tide everyone over...

Keeping Faith

I've been following a blog for the last month about a little girl named Faith. Her mother, Shelly, is a friend of my friend, Andrea. Both Faith and Andrea's son, Drew are heart kids...that is, they were both born with very serious heart defects. Both Faith and Drew have had numerous heart repairs, the most recent for both kids being the same surgery. Drew had his surgery last May, and Faith had hers just this past March. Drew is a remarkable five year boy who for the first time can run, jump, and play almost like any other five year old. Faith, however, died just this past Monday morning after an extremely long and arduous hospital stay.

I've never met Shelly, and I never knew her daughter either. I only heard about their situation through Andrea, who had posted links to Faith's blog on her blog and facebook site. I read Shelly's updates on Faith almost daily, however, as Shelly's candor and honesty about her feelings over her daughter's situation were incredibly touching. As I read about Faith's passing, tears streamed down my cheeks. I felt her loss, and what is more, I felt Shelly's. Sophia is only three months old, and the impact her little life has had on mine cannot be described unless you actually are a parent. She is inextricably tied to me. Whatever pain she will feel in life I will feel also. To lose a child has to be an uncomparable devastation.

Shelly is a remarkable mother. Her daughter's passing, while painful, has touched her mother deeply. Faith's short life was a testament to loving unconditionally, making her loved ones feel special and unique, and finding beauty everyday. As a result, Shelly has committed her life to doing the same. Her journey is truly inspiring. In the end, the life that Faith lived, and the message that Shelly has shared with hundreds of strangers, is the life that each of us should strive to live everyday.

Life IS precious, and a gift that should be cherished. Each of our loved ones should know how important they are, and that their presence in our lives is a blessing. However fleeting an impact it may seem to be at the time, we should learn to appreciate the positive influence it has had in our own lives. Like Faith, and Shelly, to love unconditionally and to value the blessing that life is is a quality we should all embrace. I know that I am going to remember to appreciate all the blessings that life has to offer, as they are fleeting and temporary. A little girl who I never met reminded me to always keep faith.

Two Months!

~Two Months Old~

I can't believe that its already been a month since my last post! My days don't seem busy, but then again, when you are watching a two month old, the time kind of flies.

Can you believe that Sophie is already two months old?! Checking into the hospital seems like yesterday, and a lifetime ago (I think I keep saying that...). She is getting SO BIG, and the doctor confirmed that today at her two month well baby checkup. She is in the 95% now across the board for height, weight, and head circumference (she's totally her mother's daughter...). She coos and babbles, which is the CUTEST thing in the entire world. She holds her head parallel to her body when we pull her forward by her hands (that isn't usually until 3 months, according to the books, by the by). Hmmm...what other marvels can I share about my daughter? As much as Tony and I are hoping a dreaming for the day, Sophie still isn't quite sleeping through the night. Her bedtime is around 7, and Tony take the first feeding about 11 (altough the last few nights were closer to 1...maybe the start of something new and great?!?!). I get up with her about 2ish (again, lately its been around 5 though, after the 1 a.m. feeding). We are assured that sleeping through the night (or close to it) is just around the corner, so we are waiting with baited breath.


~Cute Foot!~
Sophie had her first round of immunizations today, and took them like a champ. Only a few minutes of crying, and then it was over. She was fussy in the afternoon, which everyone has told me to expect, and she went to bed EARLY tonight (well, I hope she did, I just put her down and its only 5 pm...I hope I don't live to regret that!).


~Little bit of Momma love...~

New pictures for May are on Snapfish, so take a look when you get a chance. I hope everyone is doing as well as Sophie is! Have a great Memorial Weekend...I know we will!



~The only picture where I think she looks like me...~

Happy Birthday!

My baby was one month old yesterday!

Happy Easter!

Happy belated Easter, everyone! We have had good couple weeks, and an whirlwind Easter holiday. There is not much to report as far as our day-to-day goes. Between eating, sleeping, and pooping, Sophia's schedule is pretty booked up. In between those activities, I find time for showering, reading, napping, and catching on reruns of Desperate Housewives on Lifetime. My days are pretty major. We've had visits from Jana and Ryden pretty much every week, which is awesome. What Sophia and Ryden may not understand is that they are betrothed, so Jana and I figure that they should hang out a bit and get to know one another. :) Sophie also had a cold last week, which wasn't the worst thing in the world. That is, she wasn't too fussy or miserable, but the amount of snot that can come out of that little nose is pretty impressive. She makes mommy so proud... The worst seems to be over now, and the booger sucker is almost a thing of the past.


Easter was fun, but quick. We took a chance and decided to risk the car trip down to San Diego to visit Tony's family. His parents hadn't seen Sophia since she was born, and his grandmother hadn't seen her at all. The trip down wasn't too bad. We made it all the way to Mission Viejo (80+ miles of the 120 mile trip, for my out-of-staters) before we had to stop for a feeding and a quick diaper change. The rest of the trip was a breeze, and Sophia was sleeping soundly 40 minutes after we arrived. Unfortunatley for her adoring fans, she also slept most of Easter, so most people didn't get to see her until about an hour or so before we started packing up to leave. The trip home was awful, and the traffic was MUCH worse than either Tony or I had anticipated. Thankfully, despite the fact that she usually wakes up if the car isn't moving, Sophie slept for the ENTIRE almost 4 hour car ride home. My daughter rules.



There are, of course, pictures to post, but I have a kid that needs to be fed pretty soon. Check back in shortly, and expect a new installment of April photos to be put up on snapfish.