Some Pictures to Hold You Over

Sofia brushing her teeth. She cries every night when we take the toothbrush away.
Sofia's balloon from BW3.
Payback picture! I had to have a picture of her like this, it was so cute. That little naked baby butt!
Sofia loves her purse. Thanks Grandma Nancy. Sofia is only eleven months, and she already has a thing for shoes and purses.

No Excuses

I know, I know...where have I been? I know it says no excuses, but I have some valid ones if you would life to hear them. First, my sister Jessica had a healthy baby girl on Monday morning at 1:08 a.m. Sydney Elizabeth. I got the call that her water broke at 9:30 a.m. Sunday morning. Soon after, Sofia and I hopped in the car and drove down to Cincy (I knew this would be an overnight trip) and stopped by Chelsea's place. We got to the hospital around 3 p.m. Sofia was not allowed in the room most of the time, but we did get to leave at one point and get dinner with my dad and stepmom. After that we went back to the hospital until 11:30 p.m. Sofia stayed up most of the time, and after 8 p.m. she went a little loopy. Chelsea, Sofia and I left the hospital and then were promptly pulled over by a cop (I was driving Ryan's car and it had a tail light out which I was not aware of). I didn't get a ticket or anything, thank god. We went back to the hospital the next morning and visited the baby. She was so cute. As soon as I get a picture saved on my computer I'll post it.

Monday we drove home and then I started class that evening. Then Tuesday I worked all day and then went to class. I got to see Sofia a total of maybe 10 minutes on Tuesday...it was a little depressing.

So as you can, I have been up to my ears with busyness. I do have some new pictures, especially some really cute ones of Sofia naked and holding a balloon...future blackmail. I promise I will post them soon...probably tomorrow...or the next day!

No Awards Here

Sofia and her battle scars.

Okay, I will definitely not win any Mother of the Year awards. Reason number 1: Saturday morning Sofia took a dive off of our bed. Granted, I wa in the bathroom at the time and Ryan was supposed to be watching her, but I still feel at fault because I put her in bed with him when he was only half awake. All I heard was a thud and then crying. Luckily Sofia wasn't hurt, only a scratch on her cheek and a cut on her lip. I felt terrible. Reaon 2: This one isn't my fault and there was nothing I could do to prevent it. Sofia was walking out of her room and tripped over her feet and took a face plant right into the corner of the wall. Oh the crying! Poor Sofia hit her nose. Now she has a bruise across the bridge of her nose to match the one on her cheek. She looks like she got into a fight!
Opening presents!





Other than all of the accidents, things have been going pretty well. Grandma Rose and Grandpa Mark came and visited on Sunday. Sofia got a couple of early birthday presents and entertained everyone. She was on the go for almost three hours straight. She really enjoyed chewing on vegetables we had laid out. A piece of pepper in one hand and a carrot in the other, not to mention smashed goldfish in the palms of both hands. I'm still finding pieces of goldfish in the carpet.
Sofia and Grandma Rose.
Sofia trying to feed Grandpa Mark.

After a fun day playing, I had to go to work and Ryan was watching Sofia. Sofia was not happy to see me leave. Ryan tried to pick her up, but she kept pushing off of his chest, trying to get down. Oh the crying! It was heartbreaking because she never acts this way when I leave, even when I leave her at the babysitters. Oh well, I guess it had to start sometime.
Hanging on the couch with Daddy.

What a Champ

I don't know what's been going on lately, but Sofia has been a champ when I put her down for her naps. No crying, no fussing, no screaming. I've been putting her down a little earlier for each nap, at the first signs of tiredness, so maybe this is doing the trick. All I do is carry her into her room, turn on her music and lay her down. She used to sit up and cry, but now she just grabs onto her pink bunny/blanket and rolls over. I still hear her talking to herself after I shut the door, but there's no fighting and no crying. It's kind of a relief. It was getting to me for a while, hearing those sobs of anguish. But like everything, I'm sure it won't last for long.

Oops!

So, here's a quick story. Ryan and Sofia came to the library to visit me today. Of course Sofia was mobbed right off the bat by all of the library ladies. And of course she showed off for them, walking and jabbering and smiling. Well, Ryan checked out some books and put them in a canvas library bag. Five minutes after they left, Kerri came up to the desk with the bag. I guess a patron saw it sitting in the parking lot and brought it inside. Ryan was bag five minutes after that. He had put Sofia in the car and then forgot about the bag. Everyone kept saying it was a good thing the situation wasn't reversed and he forgot about Sofia!

Girls Night Out

I must say, Sofia and I had the best day together on Friday. After she got up from her nap and ate lunch, I packed everything up and we went to the mall. The first stop, the play area. We last maybe ten minutes before I decided it was too crowded. Instead we walked around for a little while and I ate lunch. After that, I decided to try the play area one more time. This time it wasn't quite as crowded and Sofia had a blast. She was walking around, crawling through a hollow log, climbing stairs and screeching at the top of her lungs. We must have played in there for close to an hour. We only had a couple of accidents, one involving a couple of kindergarteners running around and one of them elbowing Sofia in the head. It didn't phase her. After that, we went home so that Sofia could take a nap and we could say goodbye to Ryan. Ryan went to Wheeling to visit some friends. Once Sofia woke up and ate dinner, I decided that I was in the mood for California Pizza Kitchen, so off we went back to the mall. After we sat down, our waiter brought us some goldfish crackers. You'd think I hadn't just fed Sofia twenty minutes earlier, but she was double fisting those crackers and stuffing them into her mouth like there was no tomorrow. She was awesome throughout dinner and after we went back the play area so that I could wear her out. It worked. We came home, she took a bath and then she went straight to bed, no fuss. It was one of the best days I have had!

Day Off

Arrg..Sofia wearing her pirate hat at the Library's Summer Reading Club party.
A picture of the family.


Today is my day off for the week, and I have no clue what I'm going to do. It's been so hot lately that I haven't gone anywhere this week except for the grocery store. Today has been the first slightly cooler day in over a week or so, so I'm definitely going to get out of the house. Ryan may be going to Wheeling tonight, so I was thinking of taking Sofia out to dinner. Our own little girl's night out or something. I love eating out. If I could afford it, I would do it all the time. There's just something so exciting about trying different foods without having to cook them yourself. Sofia likes to eat out as well because she loves the bustle of the retaurant atmosphere.





Speaking of Sofia, epecially since this blog is supposed to be about her, she has been an absolute gem the past week. I can't get over how good she's been. She's getting alot more involved with her playing. You can see the concentration on her face and the wheels turning in her brain. I hope this good humor lasts a while because I'm really enjoying it!


By the way, here's a couple of new things Sofia can now do: she can kick a ball, point at things (although most of the time we're not sure what she is pointing at, so if she points in the general direction of the t.v., I just start listing everything that is over there.), throw a ball, and she babbles all the time. Some of the words I think she may be trying to say include: kitty (ki ee), daddy (da ee), mommy (ma mae), and many more that I just can't figure out.
The cat's out of the bag!
I abolutely adore this picture. You can see Sofia's two little bottom teeth. And look at those cheeks! I just want to squeeze them.

A Trip to Mt. Orab

Sofia and I went down to Mt. Orab yesterday for my sister Jessica's baby shower. Sofia will have a cousin in a few weeks and I'm really excited to be an aunt! The baby shower was nice. It was all of my cousins and aunts, and of course Chelsea, Jessica and Nancy. A couple of my second cousins were there as well, and they absolutely loved Sofia. They wouldn't let her out of their sight! It was nice for me because I got a little break. I will say, I loved seeing all of the gifts Jessica got. After presents and cake, we went swimming. Sofia held up pretty well considering she only slept for about an hour and a half total the whole day. She was pretty cranky by the end of the day, and whenever I left her sight she would start screaming! It was so sad.

Today we had a little adventure on the drive home. My car was close to overheating, so I couldn't use the air conditioner, which sucked because it was about 95 degrees outside. I had to pull over at a gas station/travel plaza halfway home because I was too afraid to drive much longer. Sofia and I needed to get out of the heat anyway, so we cooled down with some water and some mac and cheese from Popeye's chicken. I felt so bad for her because I know she had to be hot, and I gave her a sippy cup of cold water once we started driving, but she got mad and threw it on the ground, and there was no way I could reach it. Thanks God we got home and the apartment has air conditioning. I must say, I hate August and I hate hot weather. Bring on fall!!

I'm Back

No, I'm not back from some fantastic trip or anything like that. I'm back from being a slacker and not posting for a week. I know, I know...I'm sorry. I wish I could say that something exciting happened during my absence, but nothing did. Sofia is doing fantastic. She has really gotten good at walking and does it all the time now. She's starting to say daddy (sounds like dahhee) and mama, although I don't think she knows which title belongs to which person. We haven't been going anywhere since the weather has been so darn hot, plus I've been sick. I hate having colds in the middle of summer, it just doesn't feel right.



Today Sofia and I did get out the house for a couple of hours. We went to the library. We went to a different one than our usuals just so we could try something new. After that, we visited daddy at work and then went to Graeters and ate some icecream. Did I mention Sofia loves icecream. As soon as I put it in her mouth (mint chocolate chip), she started bouncing in her seat and rocking the high chair. She loves it that much, and I can't help but indulge her every once in a while. It's too much fun to feed her now while she'll still eat anything you put in front of her. I hope that things won't change, but I'm sure it's inevitable that one day she may become a picky eater. It'll break Ryan' heart.

Even though she's walking, and has both hands free, Sofia still feels the need to carry things in her mouth.

The most current facial expression.

This picture is just a little creepy...it's those eyes!