Walking the Walk

Sofia is really starting to take off now. Just over the past couple of weeks, her confidence with her walking has greatly improved. I watch and sometimes I just can't believe she's doing it! She looks too small to be walking. I'm so proud of her and the fact that I have such a curious baby. She has discovered that by walking, she can carry things in her hands. It's much easier than crawling and carrying stuff in her mouth. Every day she just gets more and more fun. Like today, for instance, I put on some music to listen too. I've been sick of watching t.v. all the time so I took out some cd's for babies from the library. I put on Jim Gill's Irrational Anthem. This is a fantastic cd for toddlers and babies, we use it in our storytimes all the time. Anyway, as soon as I put the music on, Sofia started to dance. She shakes her arms and her whole body. I danced around the apartment like a goofball. At one point, she was poised to crawl down on her hands and knees, when her little butt started shaking to the music. Why, oh why do I never have a video camera ready?!

Rita Skeeter (Debbie) and Bellatrix Lestrange (Meredith) have joined forces?!
Professor Trelawny (Lisa) and Ginny Weasley (Sarah) at the library Harry Potter party.

If no one hears from me in a couple of days, it's because I'm in a whole other world, Harry Potter. I got the book yesterday, and read during my lunch break at work (and snuck little reads here and there while at the desk) and then read from 9 p.m. and didn't stop until I finished the book at 5 a.m. That's right, five in the morning. I couldn't put the book down. Since I was up so late reading, I slept in this morning and Ryan took Sofia to the toy store and the comic book store. Ryan is awesome.

Sofia has been fantastic the past few days. I took her to the library's Harry Potter party on Friday and she was so cute dressed as Dobby the House Elf. Did I take pictures? Of course not, but a couple of the librarians did and as soon as they send me copies, I'll post them. I made her a shirt out of a onesie that was cut up and then I made big ears. She kept the ears on for a while and got a lot of comments. As for the party, it was a huge success. I've never seen the library so packed with people. And it didn't let up for the whole time. There were a ton of kids, and adults, dressed in costumes. People were very impressed with the decorations. I only worked from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. and I was exhausted by the end. Heck, I was exhausted after the first 3 hours. Chelsea drove up from Cincinnati to come and check out the party and then babysit on Saturday. It worked out well because that meant I didn't have to run around and get Sofia ready before work.

Needless to say, today has been a very lazy day. We did some grocery shopping and then all took a nap in the afternoon. After Sofia ate dinner, and Ryan left to go see Transformers with Russ, I packed up Sofia and we went to the park. It was an absolutely beautiful evening. Sofia got to swing, she walked around in the grass, and tried to eat some grass and twigs. After that we went to get a smoothie at Cold Stone. Yum! Now I have to start Harry Potter over again. Yeah, you heard that correctly!

Harry Potter Overload

I never thought I would say it in a million years, but I am sick of Harry Potter. Hell has frozen over! Anyway, it's been HP 24/7 at the library. Two more days until the party, then I can buy my book and relax. I feel like I've barely seen Sofia in the past week. I worked all weekend, Friday and Saturday and Sunday. I also worked all day today. She did have her doctor's appointment yesterday. Official stats? 16 lb. 4 oz and 27 inches tall. She's still in the lower percentile for weight, but the doctor isn't concerned. He's never concerned about anything. Sofia has been doing well. I'm pretty sure she's got another tooth coming in. She'd have to with as much time as her hand is in her mouth. I can't believe my little baby is growing up!

My new pink hair as Tonks from Harry Potter.

Herbology Greenhouse that I decorated.

A Mandrake that Ryan made for the Herbology classroom.

When it rains, it pours

That's how it's been for Sofia. Within the last two weeks, Sofia has started to give "high fives," can wave bye-bye (although not on command), is learning to walk short distances, and she's cutting a tooth. Geesh. The walking thing has just started within the past week. Sofia's been cruising for a couple of months now, but I guess that was too boring for her. Now don't get me wrong, she's not walking laps around the living room or anything, but she'll take five or six steps before plopping down. Crawling is still her preferred method of travel, but I have a feeling once she's really comfortable with the walking, crawling will soo be forgotten. As for the tooth, I just noticed it last night. Ryan and I were eating dinner, and I gave Sofia some barley that Ryan had made. Well, she kept chewing it and chewing it (or should I say gumming it). Finally, I got sick of watching her chew so I did a little "mouth sweep" with my finger. As I did that, I felt something sharp on her bottom gum, and sure enough it's a little tooth popping up. That explains why she woke up crying after going to bed a few times last week. Her brain must be on overload. Which is the only reason to explain the mess she got into yesterday. (There's no way it could be from bad parenting!) I was at work, so right off the bat I'm not to blame, and Ryan was watching her for the day. I guess she was in her room playing alone, which she does quite frequently, when things got quiet. A little too quiet. Ryan went to check on Sofia and when he saw her he thought, "Hmm...why is she glistening?" From what I understand, Sofia got into the tub of vasoline. It was on her face, in her hair, on her clothes, on the floor, and on the curtains Chelsea made for the changing table. (Sorry Cheslea, but we are washing them!) By the time I got home most of it was cleaned up, but there was still a litle bit of residue in her hair. At least she didn't eat it! (We think.)

Ugh, computers. For some reason I can't put in a title to this post, I guess we'll have to live without one. Anyway, I can't believe how fast Sofia is growing. Within the last week, she has started to stand on her own for long stretches and then within the last couple of days, she has started to walk on her own...no lie. It's so funny to watch. She looks like a little drunk person. It's just so amazing to watch her and see the wheel's turning in her head. She is so smart. Now she's just going to be walking more and more. It's crazy. I am thankful every day for having such a good baby. She can keep herself occupied and play for at least two hours at a time. And she's not afraid of anything! She likes to swim, she's great in public, and she amuses herself without any help. I love this baby!!

Happy 4th of July!

Fireworks! Hamburgers! Swimming pools! Awww, I love the 4th of July. We drove down to my dad's side of the family in Mt. Orab, Ohio. Don't worry, no one else knows where it is either. My dad, stepmom and brother all went to my cousin Jenae's house. They have a brand new pool and it was awesome, and a little cold. Poor Logan had to head back to my dad's early because he wasn't feeling well, but we still went on without him. I got to see Jessica. She only has about 7 weeks left until her baby is due and she definitely has a round belly. Even though only half the family was present, we still had a ton of food. A ton. That's what I love about our family get togethers is all the food. Yummy. Everyone was happy to see Sofia. Last time they saw her was Christmas and she was only 3 months old. Now they got to see her crawling, swimming and eating rocks. The BBQ was fun, the ride home not as much. Ryan and I were both so tired that we had to share the driving while the other one slept. It was the only way we could get through the two hours. To all my readers (all three of you) I hope you all had a great 4th of July. Now I'm going to get ready to light up my sparklers.

This is Summer?

Okay, I'm not complaining, but what is going on with the weather? It's gorgeous out! I leave Phoenix and 110 degree weather and come home to Ohio, and 80 degree weather. I love it. It may not be only the weather that is strange. Poor Sofia has had the hardest time sleeping since we came back from vacation. I don't think she has had a chance to catch up or get back on schedule. Today she slept a total of two hours for her naps, which is far less than usual. Plus, bedtime has been difficult. I don't know if it's her teeth (of which there are zero to date) or what, but she'll sleep for an hour and than wake up crying. Tonight it happened, and when I walked into her room, she was crying and kind of sleeping all at the same time. Poor thing. Who knows what's going on in that little baby head of hers. I wish I did.