Yum Yum! Part 2

It was night two of the rice cereal show here at our house. We even broke out the high chair for this event. I can't believe how easy it was. She would grab the spoon and bring it to her own mouth. We still need to work on swallowing, but we'll get there. For now it's just fun to watch her expressions as she eats the food. They're mixed with surprise, disgust, shock, and finally acceptance. We're going to keep with the cereal for awhile, at least until she learns to swallow it better. It could be worse, she could just be spitting the food right back at me.

Yum Yum!

Baby cereal. Probably one of the blandest things ever made. Sofia did pretty well for the first time eating it. She'd swallow, spit, swallow, cry, swallow, smile, ect ect. She was so hungry that she would grab for the spoon as I brought it towards her mouth, and then once the food was in, make a very disgusted face. I don't blame her. I tried a little taste, and it is pretty bad. But the experience was fun. Now we'll get to give her little tastings every day and soon she'll be eating it all the time. Ryan is more excited about the actually baby food vegetables and fruits, but I keep telling him we have to do this for a month or two before we move on. After the rice cereal, maybe I'll mix it up with some wheat or barley cereal...delicious! I will admit, I feel a little guilty going against what the doctor said, but oh well. It's my baby, "I'll do what I want!" Although I will feel bad if she has some sort of reaction (doubtful).

Ryan was a little put out because I didn't have any pictures of him, except for one of his hand, so I said I would add more. This is the best one so far. December 26, 2006. There, now you're included, Ryan!

What the ?

Okay, I finally figured out how to download pictures from my camera to my computer, which means I can upload new (and current) pictures of Sofia for everyone to see!

So, I've had a busy past couple of days. This wouldn't happen if I updated my blog everyday, but now that I have pictures, I'm going to try. Yesterday, Sofia and I drove down to Hamilton for Mom's surprise going away party. She was really good until the party started, and then she wanted nothing to do with anyone but me. She'd cry and fuss unless I held her. It was fine at first, but then, right before we left, she started wailing! It must have been her stomach because she was pretty gassy once we got home. Today we visited Russ, Vanessa and little Genevieve. Sofia was good, and pooped yet again! Tonight we went to Ryan's work Christmas party (yes, I said Christmas party.) Everyone loved Sofia, and she showed what a good baby she could be! No crying, only a little fussing. After next week, when we go to Cincinnati to send Grandma Colleen on her way to Phoenix, things will slow down and we won't be travelling as much.

Tomorrow will be a new experience. We're going to try and give Sofia cereal for the first time. The doctor said to wait until she's six months, but honestly I think she's ready (and the doctor is a little old-fashioned) and Ryan is so excited about starting her on real food. He's been talking about this before she was born! I'm just amazed at how fast she's growing! She can practically sit up by herself, for about 30 seconds, and she talks to herself all the time. And now, especially after seeing Genevieve, I realize how fast time flies. I'm trying to enjoy it as much as possible. Well, that's about it for now. Here are some pictures to enjoy!

Sofia reading her book!

What are you looking at?

Hanging with Russ (looking a little like a boy!)

Back from Cincy

Sofia and I just returned from Cincinnati this afternoon after visiting my mom for a couple of days. We're trying to get in as much face time as possible before she makes the big move to Phoenix. We went down there on a whim. I woke up Tuesday morning and thought, "Hmm, I have Wednesday off and I don't work until 5 p.m. on Thursday, I think we'll drive down to see mom." And so we did. Ryan didn't want us to go at first, he gets worried when we drive that far together since I don't have a cell phone. But it was nice and I was glad I went.



We got down there Tuesday evening, almost 10 p.m. Sofia slept the whole car ride and was bombarded by mom and Chelsea, so she didn't get to bed until close to midnight. Then, an hour later, she woke up (thanks to me trying to turn her head because it looked very uncomfortable how she was sleeping) and cried until after 2 a.m. I don't know what was wrong with her, altough my mom said she was probably so tired she didn't know what to do. Finally, I rocked her until she fell asleep and put her in bed with me and Chelsea. Thankfully last night was much easier! I'm glad I went down there too, because I got two free end tables out of the deal. My mom didn't want to take them to Phoenix, so I said I would take them (they match the wood on our couch and everything.)



Other than that, now I'm back at work. It's a pretty quiet night, which is nice, but I wish it was a little busier. I have all day off tomorrow, and then Saturday it's back to work and for Sofia, back to the babysitter. Which, by the way, seems to be working it out. They said Sofia was very good. She fussed for the first hour, but then fell asleep with Whitney, our babysitter's daughter, and after that she was very good. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that this will last.

This is an older picture because I haven't had a chance to download the new ones.

By the way, I forgot to mention that Sofia had her four month checkup. She went to a new doctor, and I'm not sure how I feel about him. However, as far as her stats, she is 11 lb.s 4 oz. She is 23 and 2/3 inches tall. And she got four shots in her poor little legs. Luckily, Ryan was with me and was able to witness it all. Although, I must say, the shots weren't as bad this time around (at least not for me watching them). We go back in two months, and I'm going to give the doctor another chance.

Cabin Fever

I think Sofia and I are both getting cabin fever. It kind of sucks being stuck inside all day because of the rain. Plus, I think Sofia is definetely starting to teeth. She constantly has her fingers in her mouth. But sometimes she isn's even sucking on them, but instead she pushes them against her gums. Plus, she's starting to get fussier in the evenings. And here I thought we had already passed that stage!

She started at the new babysitter today. I like her babysitter, Suzanne and her daughter who helps, Whitney. But, I still cried when I left her there this morning. (It was partly leaving her and the other was from fighting with Ryan, but I'm not going to get into that.) I still need to check Suzanne's references, especially since everyone keeps telling me to, and that it will make me feel more comfortable. But, I just hate calling people I don't know, a common fear I'm sure. I'm going to do it, at least so I don't feel like a bad mother.

Other than that, I wish I could say more was going on. Our friends Russ and Vanessa should be having their baby in the next couple of weeks. I'm so excited! It's going to be weird seeing a newborn, even though Sofia was that age only four short months ago (it's hard to believe, I know.) I guess I can tell the other news too, if not then oops. I'm going to be an aunt. My older sister Jessica is pregnant, which is exciting. I never thought it would happen, at least not now anyway, so it was a big surprise when she told me (and I was told first!) . She's due around late August early September, just in time for Sofia's birthday. Now she'll have a cousin. (But she will always be the first grandchild!!)

Vanessa holding Sofia at 6 days old. (You can't see Vanessa's bump, but it's there!)

By the way, I will promise to post more pictures as soon as I figure out how to download new ones from my camera to the computer.

Rough Night

Last night was rough. Sofia has been sleeping through the night, ten hours or so, since she was a little over two months old. Last night was the first night in a long time it took forever for her to fall asleep and stay asleep. She was fussy until about 9:30 and then we put her down. An hour later she was up and crying. I tried to let her cry and fall back asleep, but she wouldn't. I finally had to take her out of bed. Even after I picked her up she wouldn't stop crying. Plus, whenever she opened her mouth, her breath smelled a little off. Slightly metallic. It was really weird. After calling my mom at 11 p.m. and searching the internet for reasons of the metallic smell, I broke down and fed Sofia. I guess that did the trick. After a few minutes of eating, she was back to her smiling happy self. She still fussed a little throughout the night and woke up at 7:45 am, but at least she's not sick or something (at least I hope not.) Now she's been napping for the past two hours, which has let me get a lot done. I've been able to clean both bathrooms, clean the kitchen, eat a snack, read my e-mail. Although I feel as though I have done a lot, just looking around the living room makes me realize there is so much more to clean. Oh well, that's what tomorrow is for!

Babysitter Accomplished

Im keeping my fingers crossed, but it seems we have found a new babysitter, for now. She only lives about five minutes away, mother of four and works from home. She starts Saturday and I'm nervous. Relieved and nervous at the same time. At least the search is over with for a while because I hate having to talk to new people when it comes to things like this.

Well, I think Sofia is finally readjusting from the holidays and aunt Chelsea visiting this past weekend. She was fussy last night and took a while to fall asleep, even after a fun bathtime (in which she didn't cry once!). She slept through the night, right through her 5 a.m. feeding she sometimes likes to take. Ryan went and checked on her before he went to work at 8 a.m. Usually she'll make some grunting noises or things like that, but nshe was silent. I woke around 9, which is such a luxury, and even though I didn't hear anything from her room, I couldn't go back to bed because I was too worried that something was wrong. I finally went and woke her up at 9:30. So, from that point on, our day was off. She was in the middle of her morning nap when I had to wake her up to go to our interview. By the time we left, she was cranky and tired. So, after eating, she fell asleep in her crib (and I fell asleep on the couch.) She woke up, and cried while I changed her, one of those gut wrenching cries. I fed her again, she fell asleep. Finally, after Ryan came home, she woke up just in time to go to the grocery store. I turned her around in her front carrier so that she could see what was going on. I think she really liked to see what was going on, and gumming the front of the carrier. The thing was soaking wet by the time we got home, as was her shirt. I never knew so much drool could come out of such a small person. Anway, she fussed a little bit tonight, fighting sleep until the bitter end. When will she learn that sleep is a losing battle? The funniest part of her bedtime was the Ocean Wonders crib toy we got for Christmas. Sofia likes it until she wants to fall asleep. She cried when it turned off, so I went in her room and turned it back on. Five minutes later, she started crying again. I went in to see if it was still on, which it was, but this time she as crying because she wanted it off so she could go to sleep. I turned it off, and she was out within seconds. Weird.

Drool

Friday afternoon, Sofia and I took a little road trip down to Cincinnati to surprise my mom at a work get together. It was about a four hour round trip, but it was worth it. Sofia was a little overwhelmed when we first got there, and one of mom's supervisors made her cry, but other than she was pretty good. Chelsea came back with us because she babysat for me on Saturday. We're still looking for babysitters, but I do have a couple of
interviews tomorrow. I hope it goes well!

So, Sofia has been drooling up a storm. I have to change her shirt a few times a day because they get so wet. Plus, she's starting to blow rasberries, which is pretty funny. She'll just sit there, and then out of nowhere, she'll start up. She's like a little motorboat. It's really neat seeing her reach all of her milestones. Well, now it's bathtime. I'm still waiting for her to enjoy it, but usually she just sits in her little tub with her fists balled up as if she's freezing. I'm sure it will happen soon.

Happy New Year

Last year at this time, I was pregnant and didn't even know it. I spent a couple more weekends getting a little crazy. Wow, how life has changed!

So, we went and saw Ryan's mom and stepdad, Mark, this past weekend for New Year's. It was relaxing because once we got there, we didn't have any other place to go. Ryan and I even got to go out alone and see a movie together, something we haven't done in almost six months or so. We saw Night at the Musuem with Ben Stiller. I highly recommend it. Two thumbs up. Sofia was good. Smiling and talking and being cute. She especially liked Mark (she has a thing for guys, something we'll have to watch out for when she gets older!). We had Christmas all over again. I got a beautiful red robe (thanks Rose!) that I'm wearing right now. Sofia got a very cute yellow outfit and a little stuffed pony. We left Tuesday to resume our normal lives. Let me just say, I was very happy to go back to work today. I missed the library. We were busy too, which really helped time fly. I had to switch my weekend days because we have yet to find a babysitter. Luckily, I talked Chelsea into coming up here again with the promise of $50 dollars and a Mr.Winkle day planner. I do have a couple of prospects in the childcare department that I am going to further explore tomorrow.

Oh, last, but not least. Ryan and I have entered the 20th century with our new internet connection. (I know, I know, it's the 21st century, but everyone else has had internet long before us.) Now I'll be able to update this blog everyday, rather than waiting until I was at work to do it. I'm sure I'll have some fun stuff to write after tomorrow. Until then...

Happy New Year

I'm sure you're all wondering where the pictures are, but until I find my cable for the camera I can't post any. So, keep an eye out in the past postings because that's where I'll put them when I find them. Anyway, I can't believe it's 2008. Where did 2007 go? We New Year's Eve at our friends Russ and Vanessa. Their little girl is four months younger than Sofia so the two got along, well, as much as two 0ne-year-olds can. To put it in perspective, there was a lot of cup sharing between the two and a little bit of pushing, but all in all they were really cute together. As for the adults, we started a little imbibing after the kids went to sleep. I think I imbibed a little too much and stayed up a little too late. Luckily no one had to worry about driving because we stayed the night (see, we're responsible adults.) However, imbibing too much always finds a way to bite you in the behind. Silly me, I figured that since Sofia stayed up later than usual, she would sleep in...no such luck. She was up about an hour earlier than usual. Ugh. Luckily Ryan got up with her and I was able to "sleep" for an extra hour or two. After we came home, all of us took a nap and then just hung out on the couch all afternoon. I'm a little bittersweet that the holidays are finally over. Oh well, there's always next year.