Christmas

Christmas has been tiring. I feel like I've covered the lower half of Ohio in about two days. Christmas Eve we went to my Dad's house and Sofia got to open tons of presents. My favorite is the play kitchen and play food. Unfortunately time flew by too fast because soon we were driving back up to Columbus. However, our stay there was only about 30 minutes, long enough to unload the car, reload it, and pick up Ryan. We were off to his Mom's house in Eastern Ohio. I was a little worried that Sofia would freak out being in the car so long, but she did surprisingly well. We made a stop at an Arby's which I think refueled us. I was glad we stopped because the manager from the gas station portion (it was one of those travel centers) came in and gave Sofia a stuffed unicorn. And not a small one, but a decent sized one. What a nice thing to do. Once we arrived at Ryan's Mom's house, Sofia was intent on exploring. She loved the sound her feet made on the kitchen floor, but I think her favorite part (after seeing the Grandparents of course!) was the fish screen saver on the computer. All she wanted to do was see those fish, even when we were opening presents the next morning. It was such a nice Christmas and Sofia got a cool table and chair set. I think one of my favorite parts was lunch. Mmmm...lasagna. Sofia wolfed down hers as well. All in all, it was a nice Christmas and I was glad I got to see everyone.

Merry Christmas

Let the Madness Begin

Yea, Christmas is here! I know, I know, I'm a couple of days early, but this year I have a whirlwind Christmas with lot's of travelling, so for me that started today. My Mom is in town from Phoenix, and even though it's the year we go to Ryan's parents, I still had to go visit my family. Because Ryan has to work on Christmas Eve, just Sofia and I are going.

Things started off good. I had the car packed and we were out the door by 8:30 a.m., not a small feat I may add. Anyway, there's little traffic on the road, Sofia is quietly looking at her book in the back seat, and we're just about to hit the Jeffersonville Outlets when I hear it. "Blech, blech, blech." That's right, ladies and gentleman, Sofia proceeds to throw up all over herself. (**Warning** the rest of this paragraph may be quite gross) It was disgusting. This is the first time I've had to deal with her puking up real food as opposed to formula. It was chunky and it smelled. Thank god there was a rest area. I pulled into a parking space and got Sofia out of the car. Of course this is one of the windiest days we've had, and poor Sofia is standing in the parking lot, covered in puke, in her socks. (Doesn't that paint a pretty picture.) I grab her diaper bag and hold the poor girl out at arm's length in an attempt not to get any of the mess on me. Don't worry, I did get some of it on my purse and shirt because no one could be bothered to get the door for us. I cleaned Sofia up as best I could, put her in a fresh outfit and attempted to clean her dirty clothes in the sink. Let me ask, what kind of restroom does not have paper towels?! Seriously, I'm all for the environment, but I really needed those paper towels, not an automatic sink that barely worked or a hand dryer. Anyway, once Sofia was cleaned up, the real fun began. How was I going to clean the babyseat? I wasn't going to pull a Britney Spears and let my child ride on my lap (although that thought did cross my mind), so I tried to clean the seat as best I could. All I had were diaper wipes and a couple of napkins I found in my glovebox. And oh yeah, Sofia's favorite blanket. I got most of it up but still had to put a blanket down for Sofia to sit on and unfortunatly there was still the smell. I'm sure we made quite an arrival, a smelly baby, a smelly carseat and a pissed-off Carissa. Merry F-ing Christmas.

I was a little worried that whole episode would dictate how the rest of the day went, but surprisingly everything went really well. My Mom, Ken and sisters all went to my aunt Tammy and uncle Dwayne's house for a get-together. My uncle David and his family were driving up from Texas and we all hadn't seen them in forever. Sofia did really well with all of the people. She was just happy to snack on things and explore this new place. I was quite relieved that everything went so well and we all had such a good time. Now if only I could get that smell out of the carseat.

This is a picture of my uncle David and family (Deborah, David, me, Sofia, David and Danielle)

Remember when I said that I'll be posting a lot more once school was done because I would have the time? Well, I lied. Maybe I wasn't recognizing it as a lie at the time, but that's what it was. Whoops. School may be over, but I still am not done with my Christmas shopping. Sofia and I went out yesterday and braved the cold at one of those outdoor shopping centers. Poor Sofia's hands were ice cold. That was better than her later that night. Here's the back story. Almost every night, Sofia and Ryan have "couch time." This is when Ryan takes off all the couch cushions and Sofia runs back and forth, jumps up and down etc. Well, last night, fifteen minutes before bed, Sofia wanted "couch time" again. I helped her up and she promptly started pulling on the lamps. I pulled her back three times and then finally put her on the floor. Oh, the crying! And the tears!! And the jibbering of a language I could not understand. So, I put her back up on the couch. Where did she go? That's right, the lamp. So, I put her back down. And the tears and crying started again. Ugh....isn't this all supposed to happen when she's two?

Sofia had her 15-month checkup yesterday. She was so well-behaved. Even when she got her three shots, she only cried briefly. As soon as the doctor put the bandaids on, she was fine. As for her stats, she's 31 1/2 inches tall (which moves her up to the 50th percentile) and she weighs 19 lbs. 5 oz (which is still the 5th percentile). I can't believe she's still not 20 lbs. All in all, the doctor said she looks good.





Today we did a little more Christmas shopping. I'm about halfway done with my list, but I figure I still have over a week. I'll get it done. I took Sofia to see Santa and get pictures. We've already met him once, but she was still a little afraid this time. I set her on Santa's lap, and when I walked away she started to cry. But, as soon as I gave Sofia a sucker, she was just fine. She didn't smile, but she didn't scream and run like the little boy ahead of us.





And now, some belated pictures.
Check out the hair!

This is Sofia's first time playing in the snow.

Slacker!

I am a slacker poster. I promise, as soon as school is done, which is today, I will post more and add pictures. Until then, you all have to make do with what is there!! Let's see, what has been going on these past couple of weeks. Here's a quick run through:

Thursday Decemeber 6, 2007
Sofia and I went to the Zoo today with our new family pass (thanks Mom!). It was cold, but totally awesome because we were the only ones there. Okay, there were about 15 others, but that is not an exaggeration. My reasoning for going was that we could stay and see all of the indoor animals. We saw the gorillas and watched them for twenty minutes without another soul coming in. Sofia was afraid of them, and I don't blame her. They are huge! We also saw the manitees and the coral reef. It was a blast!

Saturday December 8, 2007
We went to my work holiday party at the Zoo. It was cold and rainy, but there were still a ton of people checking out the Wild lights. Luckily the party was inside a gazebo thingy (yes, that's a technical term) and basically we ate some food and talked to some people. There were a lot of people there I didn't know, lots of Friends of the Library and Trustees and their families.

Sunday Decemeber 9, 2007
We braved the mall and went Christmas shopping. It was stressful.

Monday December 10, 2007
Sofia was a crab today. I had a final exam. Yuck.

Now today, Ryan came home at 11 a.m. this morning, two hours after I was supposed to be at work. I have a 30 minute presentation for my class tonight. All in all, it's another crappy day. As you can see, my stress level is rising but after tonight, at 9 p.m. I should be one happy camper. School will be done until the middle of January. Yeah! Don't get me wrong, I like school, but man oh man this semester was hard. Okay, I'm done complaining. If you're still reading this post, thanks for listening. I promise the others will be a lot happier and full of Christmas cheer!

Oh my, Sofia was sooo crabby tonight! The minute Ryan got home, she wanted either me or him to hold her. If we didn't? She'd cry. I tried to play with her while Ryan made dinner, but that lasted only so long. Around 7 p.m., she was acting so fussy that Ryan went ahead and gave her a bath. That was when he discovered the horrible diaper rash on her butt. I have no idea where it came from, but it had to have been something she ate. Needless to say, the bath (usually a very enjoyable experience) did not make her happy. So, we went to the last resort...the infant Tylenol. She loves that stuff. We don't give it out very often, but with the butt rash and the four teeth and the crying, we saw no other option. After that, Sofia cried some more, and then at 7:30 p.m., a half an hour earlier than usual, I put Sofia to bed. Now I am breathing a sigh of relief as I try to get some homework done. Ahhhh.

It's inevitable, I'm just never going to be on top of this blogging thing! I tell myself I should post everyday, but do I really want to bore everyone who reads this? But then because I don't write everyday, when I do I have a ton of catching up today. Such is the case right now. Thanksgiving was fun. We went to Russ and Vanessa's for the day and ate tons of yummy food. Sofia was good all day, and even took a nap in Genevieve's crib. Unfortunately the nap was right when we were eating, but at least Ryan and I got to eat our food without having little fingers grabbing at everything. Dessert, on the other hand, was a different story. Sofia loved the pumpkin pie and the apple pie (both homemade courtesy of Vanessa's dad). She was mooching up to everyone trying to get more tastes. The only misshap of the day was when Sofia's head got stuck between the banister rails. She put her head through, turned it, and then tried to pull it back out...it didn't work too well.

Sofia and I went to the mall on Monday and had fun playing in the play area. She's really starting to get the hang of the slides. She'll sit down at the top and then slowly scoot her little butt to the edge and then zoom down with a big smile on her face! Yesterday I decided to take her to see Santa for a little introduction before we go for pictures. Needless to say, I'll probably have to introduce her a couple of times before she's comfortable. We were the only ones in line and when we got near to the big guy, Sofia didn't want to go close to him. I started to pet Santa's sleave to show Sofia that he was soft, but she didn't want anything to do with him. Finally, being the good mom that I am, I picked Sofia up and put her on Santa's lap. That lasted all of two seconds before the lip started to tremble. But she was all smiles as soon as Santa gave her a sucker. I'm crossing my fingers that she'll last long enough next time to get her picture taken! As for the sucker, I let her try some of it. Oh, and did I mention it was blue? Very blue. Sofia had a blue mouth, blue teeth, blue tongue and would have had a blue everything else if I didn't take it away from her.

I'm very impressed that I have had the Christmas tree up for a whole day and have had no problems (knock on wood). I thought I would have to take it down for sure, but that's not the case. Sofia likes the lights, but all of the ornaments are out of her reach. So, the poor little tree has 15 ornaments all on the top half. Oh well, at least it's up!

We Shelve Babies

I just wanted to post this picture before I forget. This was from last Monday when I took Sofia to storytime at my library.

Teeth

Sofia can't get just one tooth in at a time. Oh no, she has to get two in. This morning while I was changing her, I noticed the two teeth on either side of her front ones were coming in. Well, at least she finally has more than four.

Here's a picture of Sofia showing off her newest trick. If you ask, she'll how you her belly. And sometimes she'll even find yours!

Lot's of Stuff Going On

Wow, we've been busy. Sofia and I went down to Cincy on Saturday, first making a stop at Dad's. Sofia had fun chasing cats and playing with a box of dominoes. She also got to ride in a wagon for the first time. The funny thing was she wouldn't sit on the benches, she sat on the bottom. She rode on the bottom, holding onto the sides of the wagon, all the way to the park. After we left Dad's, we travelled on to Chelsea's place. Sofia was really good until it was time for bed. She started to freak out when I put her in her pack-n-play. I think it may have been the flashlight that was in the room (I didn't want it to be pitch black), but as soon as I turned it off, she went to sleep...until Nick walked in the front door. Luckily, Sofia didn't stay up too much longer. On Sunday we went to lunch, played at another park and then went to visit Jessica and her little girl Sydney. I hadn't seen Sydney since Sofia's birthday party, and I forgot how fast babies grow! She is so cute! She was making all of the cooing and ahhing noises that little babies make. Sofia was too busy chasing the cats and talking to the dog to pay attention to her cousin. However, Sofia did enjoy trashing Sydney's room. If she wan't opening drawers and dumping everything out, she was getting into the hamper. That funniest moment was with the closet. Jessica and I were looking in Sydney's closet. This closet has two doors divided by a frame. As I was standing there, looking at clothes, Sofia proceeds to push the door shut, which shut me in the closet. Then she moved to the other door and shut Jessica in the closet. It was really funny! All in all, it was a blast going home and seeing everyone! And now, pictures!

I love Sofia, I really do. But sometimes I just get so frustrated with her! And I know she gets frustrated too. So, when I get mad I always feel bad afterwards because I tell myself, "Carissa, Sofia is only a year old, she doesn't do this on purpose." But there are days that I just can't wait to get away from her! But I love her, I really do.

Okay, two things to talk about. First, Sofia can now show you her belly. She gets a big grin on her face and pulls up her shirt. Plus, I got her to show me where her head is today. She is one smart cookie.

The second thing is Sofia's night sleeping. I'm not sure if anyone else has experienced this, but Sofia will wake up a couple hours after going to bed and she'll start crying. I wait a couple of minutes and when I do go in there, her eyes are closed and she's laying down, but she's still crying. What is up with this? Is she having a bad dream? Last night she woke up and when I went into her room, she was crouching in the corner of her crib, crying. I picked her up, turned on her music, and rocked. When I put her down, she cried for a few moments, and then rolled over onto her stomach and fell back asleep. Weird. I have no clue why she does this, but it's been happening a few nights a week for the past several weeks. Anyone have any ideas? I'm open to suggestions.

Girls Day Out

Sofia and I had a very fun day. I was so sick of sitting at home, so I got us ready and we went to storytime at the Library. Sofia's now to the point that she won't sit and pay attention, instead she walks around and explores everyone else, their bags, their books, you name it. But, as soon as she hears a song she knows, she starts shaking her little butt and swinging her arms. It's fun to watch her, but tiring to chase her around. So, anyway, after that we went home and napped. When Sofia woke up, she and I went to the Pizza Buffet place down the street. For $8 I fed both her and I (she was free). We had salad, pizza, pasta, more pizza and finally softserve icecream. It was very tasty. Then we walked down to the pet store. Sofia got a real kick out of the puppies and kittens. Then (oh, we're not done yet), Sofia and I went to the mall and played in their play area. She always has a blast. I, on the other hand, always get annoyed by the other kids and the lack of parental supervision. This area is for little kids and there are usually a ton of toddlers and preschoolers. I hate it when the kids still have their shoes on, because they're supposed to take them off. I hate when the older kids run all around and knock the little kids down. I hate pushy preschoolers who shove Sofia out of their way. I hate the parents who just sit there and watch as their child does this. But, I still love taking Sofia there because it makes her happy...now that's love!

So today I was really tired, and I have no clue why. I went to bed early last night, around 10 p.m. I woke up at 11:30p.m. and thought it was this morning. I about had a heart attack because I was supposed to work at 9 a.m. Sofia was having a bad night too because she was up crying at the same time and could not go back to sleep, so finally I had to take her into bed with me. Needless to say I did not get any sleep for about two hours, which is how long it took me to put her back to bed. Then, after work today, I took a three hour nap. Three hours! I woke up just in time to go to class. Now, it's 9:30 p.m., and I'm still tired.

Sofia is starting to literally run. She's not too fast yet, but you can tell that's what she is trying to do. Well, her new thing is whenever she picks up something from the floor, whether it be an old Cheerio or something grosser, when you say her name, she runs from you. If I'm sitting on the couch, all I see is her little body running behind the sofa. It's really funny. Her other big thing is turning off the television. And when she does it, she claps. I don't clap. I've been trying to not show any emotion when she does it, and usually we'll just keep the t.v. off, but when I'm trying to watch something, it's hard not to get annoyed, and then she just keeps doing it!

Temper

Wow, I need a break from Sofia. She was doing good all day until an hour ago. For some unknown reason (unknown to me that is) Sofia got mad. She was mad because I wouldn't let her turn off the television. She was mad because I put her on my lap. She was mad because I wouldn't put her on my lap. Then she started crying. And cry and cry. The tears were streaming down her face as she walked woefully around the living room. Finally, I had enough and put her in her crib. She was quiet for about fifteen minutes and now she's in there talking to herself. I figure I'll just let her be in there until she starts to whine and cry to be let out. I'm still going to blame the time change on this one...or just one of those freak baby explosions. Either way, I hope this little "storm" has passed.

Time Change Sucks

I know, I know, I'm such a blogging slacker. I'm sorry, I've just been so lazy lately. And now with the time change, argh! Luckily the change in time didn't effect Sofia too much. She got up at 8 a.m. and went to bed at 7:30 p.m. Nt bad. Although, what made this evening oh so special was Sofia pooping in the bath. It was bound to happen at some point, and at least she was just about to get out of the tub. That tub has been cleaned twice in two days, which I hate to admit is more than it usually is. I can't say cleaning the bathroom is on my top list of priorities. I try, I really do. (I really hope this doesn't deter people from visiting!)

I'm happy to say that Sofia is feeling much better. I took her to the doctor on Wednesday and she got the yummy pink bubblegum medicine. Which she loves. I wish we had some cool Halloween photos, but I had to work and Sofia was still feeling yucky. Ryan and Sofia went to our friend's Russ and Vanessa's place, but only stayed for about an hour. I'm really hoping next year will be a much more eventful Halloween.

Zoo pictures

Checking out the chimpanzees.
Sofia really loved the aquarium and the manatees.
Check out that Rhino!
This was a very difficult picture to take. You can't see it, but I'm holding Sofia up at the same time I'm trying to stick her head in the hole.
I love this picture. Sofia walked right up to this little goat and put her head on its back.
Sofia after her long day at the Zoo!

Sick Little Girl

Poor Sofia has been so sick. Last night she had a temperature of 101 degrees and when he woke up this morning it was 102. I feel so bad for her. She's had a cough and a runny nose for a few days, but now with the fever she's even more worse off. The funny thing is, though, Sofia's still in a good mood. We read about six or seven books today. Also, Sofia sat on my lap and watched "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown." Now, I'm not for little kids watching t.v., and I don't let the t.v. babysit her. Although, I am bad because I usually have the television on all day long. I don't even like most of the shows I have on, or I've seen them already. I'm trying to break that habit, at least for my own sake. Anyway, back to watching Charlie Brown. Sofia at on my lap, with her thumb in her mouth, and paid attention to the whole cartoon. It was actually kind of nice.

On a different not, this weekend I was a storyteller for a program we had at the library. Our library and local historical society held Ghost Tours and it was awesome! I never knew I could be a storyteller, but I must admit that I was awesome. (Hey, I'm allowed to brag every once in a while, right?)

Zoo Day

We had a great time at the Zoo today. The weather was perfect and Sofia was in a great mood. The one downside was the Zoo was really crowded because they were having their Halloween Boo at the Zoo. Other than that, I can't complain. Sofia really liked the aquarium and the goats in the petting zoo. As you will see in the picture, she really loved the goat. She did start getting cranky right before we went on the train ride, but I really can't blame her. We'd already been there for four hours by that point. Once we were on the train, she just sat and stared at everything as it went by. We get to go back to the Zoo in December for work's holiday party. It should be a blast. Plus, I can't wait until Mom gets us the season pass for Christmas (hint, hint) and then we can go all the time. I love the Zoo. I feel like I'm eight years old when I'm there. Unfortunately, this blog is not allowing me to upload pictures, so stay tuned. I will post them as soon as possible!

Toddler Tirade

Is 1 years old too early to hit the terrible twos? I know I'm overexaggerating, but I got a glimpse of the future today. Let me elaborate. Sofia can now turn the T.V. on and off. I don't really care too much because I watch too much T.V. as it is. Anyway, it does get annoying when she cranks it up to maximum volume. This is how today went. Sofia turned off the television, I took her hand and said no, and then plopped her butt away from the television, Sofia cried, and repeat. This went on for about fifteen cycles I kid you not. And oh the tears! You'd think I was denying her food or water instead of the power to turn off the television. I yi yi.

Sofia is an eating machine. She went to a party last night with Ryan and from what I heard, she was eating everything in sight. Pasta salad, bean salad, mushroom fondue, strawberries, chocolate mousse, bread. (If you couldn't tell, the host of the party was a chef.) I swear, anything you put in front of that girl, she eats. We're pretty lucky right now, but I keep waiting for the day that she starts to reject most food. As for now, we give her anything and everything and it seems to be working fine.

Sofia the pasta queen.

This was after the party and after she gorged herself on delicious food.

Slides are cool

Sofia loves the slide. We went to the mall today to play in the play area and Sofia just loved the slide. She no longer falls backward...which means less work for me. Then, once Ryan came home, we all went out to dinner at the Rusty Bucket. It was yummy. Sofia got to eat mac and cheese, mushrooms, cheerios and milk. A well-rounded dinner. The funniest part was Sofia flirting with one of the guys at the next table. She was so close to him that she kept reaching out and touching his arm and when he turned around she would smile. As soon as he turned back to his party, there went her little hand tap-tap-tapping on his arm. She's such a flirt. I'll have to keep her locked in the house until she's eighteen.

Italian Attitude

I love when I hear people say, "What a happy baby" or "What a cute baby" whenever we take Sofia places. It boosts my pride. This happened on Saturday when the three of us went to the Italian Festival. Wow, there are a lot of Italians and Italian wannabes (mostly the latter.) Ryan and I haven't missed a year yet. Last year Sofia was only about three weeks old when we went and I remember carrying her around in the little front baby carrier. She slept the whole time. It was really neat taking her this year. Especially when she decided that she wanted to go into the big tent and dance to the music. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Just picture it. A few hundred people sitting at table under a tent. There's a stage and a clear space in front for performers. Sofia walks out to the middle and starts swinging her arms to some Dean Martin. Then she starts bobbing up and down. People were laughing and getting the biggest kick out of her. I swear, Sofia is such a ham! I'm just glad I remembered to bring my camera for once. Unfortunately, the pictures just don't do the performance justice.

On another note. Sofia can kind of eat with a fork. I say kind of because I've only tried it once. But when I tried it on Saturday, she was doing a pretty good job. I put some green beans on her tray, gave her the fork and let her go to town. I had to do some of the work, but she actually got the hang of it. I cheered her on, which made her want to do it even more. She is one smart cookie!

Before...
After...

I'm sorry to everyone for not posting. I've been so busy with school and work that I just don't know what to do! Right now I have an assignment for one of my classes that is taking up all of my time, and I'm sure I'll fail it because I have no idea what I'm doing. Does anyone reading this know anything about metadata schemes?

Alright, enough whining. Onto Sofia. So, over the weekend of the 9/27 Sofia and I went down to Cincinnati because my mom flew in from Phoenix to celebrate Sofia's birthday and the birth of my niece Sydney. It was great seeing her and the whole family. I wish we could have stayed longer, two days was not enough. Sofia was great the whole weekend. She's such a good traveler, which is a good thing since both Ryan and my family are over two hours away.

Sofia and Grandma Colleen

Let's see, what else. Sofia has both top teeth growing in. She was miserable for a couple of days, and I had a feeling it was her teeth but I had no idea it was two at once. It's about time! I was wondering if she would ever get more teeth!

I wish I had more to say, but I'm just so tired. I promise I'll try to write more...and now, pictures!

Sofia' first drawing (the shapes and flowers are mine) Sofia and her sweet ride!

Where have I been?

And the cheese stands alone.

Wow, have things been crazy around here. I've been neglecting the blog because I feel like I'm going crazy! Too much to do. Sofia's birthday is over. We had a great time at the party on Sunday. It was a beautiful day and I was lucky enough to get the last shelter at the park. The only problem was I couldn't post any signs for people to find the party, but luckily everyone found the shelter in the end. Sofia had a blast playing with all of the other kids. It was great to get all of our friends together to celebrate such a special milestone. Sofia got some really cool gift and I even baked the cake. When we put her piece in front of her, she grabbed it with both hands and shoveled it into her mouth. Pure heaven!

We have one last party this weekend, Mom is coming in from Phoenix for the weekend so Sofia and I are going down to Cincinnati to see her. I can't wait!

Now I just need to get back to my schoolwork and get caught back up! I'm so far behind and it's only the third week. Of course Saturday was my day off and I got sick. I've been sick for the past four days. Okay, I'm done complaining and I'll promise to post more often.

Chelea and Sydney.

Sofia blowing out her candle. That's not a look of digust, it was good cake.