Sophia is 6 months old today...

This is so emotional for me! She needs to slow down. This last 6 months went by so quickly that it makes my breath catch.

6 DAYS OLD


6 MONTHS OLD


A few things about Sophia now that she is 6 months:

1. She loves food. You can tell those she is not too sure about (peas, sweet potatoes with corn) but she eats them anyway!
2. She loves her Jumperoo. We see her "asking" to be put in it with body language and sounds she makes.
3. She has her first tooth. The bottom left.
4. She has plans. For the cats. And for the removable shower head. We can tell.
5. She is almost sitting on her own. She can keep her balance for a long period of time and catches herself before she falls - most of the time.
6. She is very vocal. She sings and yells. We call her baby Tarzan.
7. She loves to sneeze. It cracks her up.
8. ...and she knows us. She loves her parents. We can tell. She loves her family and is recognizing her "people". Its awesome.

Its amazing to see that she has gone from this little person who could barely keep her eyes open to a little person who is grabbing things and holding on, learning to hold her own bottle, fliring and smiling.

I love being Sophia's mommy. It is an incredible gift.

It takes a village.

Most of the time in the hustle and bustle that is life it is very easy to overlook or take for granted what you have never been without. You cannot miss what you never had, right? Well on the flipside it is easy to take for granted something that you are really used to.

I have a wonderful family. There are not a lot of us but what we lose in quantity we make up for in quality. I have a small amount of cousins and aunts and uncles so we all are really close and see each other quite often (well, before a couple of traitors move far away). The point is - it takes me having my own child and seeing how much everyone else loves her for me to appreciate just how lucky I am to be in the family I am. The reminder of it all puts of warm and fuzzy feeling in my belly.

This weekend my sister came to visit. She is over the moon in love with Sophia and loved spending a few uninterrupted days with her where she only had to share her with me and my husband. This was the second weekend in a row that she got to do this and by the time she left yesterday I realized that there was now a new bond between aunt and niece. Its adorable to see Sophia's face light up when my sister walked into a room.

My grandmother spent the last few weeks knitting a gorgeous dress for Sophia. GORGEOUS. Almost an exact replica, except for color, that she made for me when I was a child. Sophia will not be able to wear it until she is about 18 months old and it hit me - she is only 5 months old and she already has a family heirloom because that dress is one of a kind, handmade by the only great grandmother Sophia will ever know.

My uncle/Godfather spent the weekend painting a 16x20 portrait of my baby. Can we say humbling? I have not even taken the time to sit down and put her photo albums together and my uncle spent a good chunk of his free time painting her. Its beautiful.

Add the three grandparents (my mom, dad, and mother-in-law) into the mix and what you have is a village of people who love this baby from the top of her had to the tips of her tiny toes. All of whom will add so much to her life and enrich each day, month, and year she spends with them.

I am going to have to make sure she really realizes all of this one day - because right now you can tell our little princess takes all of this love and attention as her rightful due. She is already an attention hog, social butterfly, and a flirt to boot - Lord help us in the years to come!

Disappointment

Disappointment is having everything in place to move back to your hometown (the new job, house on the market, details all set up, etc... ) only to come to the hard-as-hell conclusion that due to the situation in the housing market right now that you just cannot do it.

The market has screwed us over bigtime on this one. It may be the time to buy for a lot of people - but its not the time to sell unless you are willing to take a BIG hit. And we aren't.

This realization came to me amid a river of tears and a broken heart. I realized, too, that I am spoiled. I am very used to things working out the way I need them to. Even when life has closed some doors for me - new ones have opened almost immediately. So, to not see any quick resolution to this issue other than patience is hard for me.

The one good thing is that I am pretty adaptable. I am slowly getting used to the idea. I do not like dwelling and complaining about what I cannot control and I refuse to. I am so adaptable to new situations and changes that my husband looked at me last night and actually said that I looked relieved. No. I am not relieved. If we could win the lottery tomorrow and be able to afford a downpayment on our dreamhouse I would jump at the opportunity to move in a heartbeat. What I am is realistic. What I refuse to do is dwell. If the situation has to be a certain way, even if it is not my #1 or even #3 choice - then so be it. Complaining and crying and dwelling is not going to help me do anything by stay depressed and sad. I have a lot more to live for than that and that is what I am going to do.

And even though it still sucks - its not over. The plan is still to move. It just may be closer to two years from now than two months from now.

My Saving Grace

Have I told you readers that I have the chance to visit my daughter every day at daycare? Its awesome. My company has a daycare center onsite that goes from 6 weeks to age 3 and then there is also a pre-school. Its amazing.

One of the hardest things to do was to imagine going back to work and not seeing her for over 8 hours. This way, I see her every 4 hours. I also get to feed her lunch most of the time. Its amazing and awesome and I feel so blessed.

Here we are, today during break at daycare:



Me and my girl....

(she loves the camera and looks right at it or the phone or anything that interests her)

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I have to say - being a mommy puts a whole new spin on Valentine's Day. Its not just for lovers anymore - its filled with sweetness and hugs and butterfly kisses. Amazingly, I think this is the best Valentine's Day I have ever had. And its only just begun.

I Married My Father

(and its not as bad as it sounds)

I know that there are women around the world who come to this realization daily.

The women who grew up with less than desirable fathers realize this with more than a touch of shock and dismay and are the poster children for "Pyschological Issues."

The women who, like me, grew up with a father that was better-than-could-be asked-for realize this with a huge smile and more than one little misty eye.

This realization hit me over the head (again) yesterday when my husband came home with not only a Valentine's Day surprise for me - but one for our 4 month old baby girl. Yes, I know yesterday was not Valentine's Day but since we have a conflict on Thursday we celebrated it a little early (or rather, he took the iniative to). I was gifted with a beautiful bouquet of red roses and an appropriately sappy Valentine's Day card. Our baby was gifted with a huge stuffed catepillar that is twice her size and almost as cute.

Flashback to my childhood and the Valentine's Days when I remember my dad coming home, after working all day for the railroad (we are talking 12 hour shifts, outside - winter through summer) bearing a huge bouquet of flowers for my mom and always a little something for me and a little something for my sister: chocolates, stuffed animals, you name it. My Valentine's Day memories straight on through high school (where we began to receive smaller versions of our mom's bouquets) were always bright and happy - no matter if I had a boyfriend or not. Because I had my daddy. I doubt he realized how special he made those days for me or how fondly I remember them and even as I type this I get a little misty eyed and sentimental because I had (and have) a wonderful father who loved his girls and was not afraid to show it.

And now, as the mommy to a little girl, I can look forward to not only Valentine's Day as a special day for me and my husband but as one that is special for my husband and his daughter because just like my dad was my very first Valentine - so will her dad be for her. I realize now that the best gift I will ever give my children is that I chose my husband to father them, to raise them, and to love them.

What floats my boat....

Here is an interesting factoid that I have realized since becoming a parent. I am wierd. I am odd. I am a freak. At least, that is what I am to non-parents or to parents of older children who have forgotten what it is to be excited over every teeny tiny thing their infant does.

I am by no means trying to say that my husband and I were, err, "normal" people before. Meaning, I was already dorky and would react the way I naturally reacted no matter what my reaction made people think of me. Actually, my husband and I are both dorks which is why we got along so well right from the beginning.

But becoming parents has made us monumentally wierder and dorkier than we ever were. In such a way that even we realize it - but it does not stop us from reacting the way we do to each other or to those around us. If you were a fly on our wall at home you would perpetually be shaking your head at our zaniness. Coo-coo is what we are!

Reasons to excitedly call my husband into the living room/kitchen area before baby:
* A preview for a cool new movie just came on the Television.
* Something monumental has happened in the world and is now on the news.
* One of the burners on the stove is on fire (this actually happened).

Reasons to excitedly call my husband into the living room/kitchen area since baby:
* Sophia is making an incredibly cute face, come see!
* Sophia wants to grab my glasses (but isn't actually grabbing them), come see!
* Sophia has noticed her feet, come see!

Are you following me? LOL. I am not sure if anyone other than another parent can really understand how much you change and how much your surroundings change when you have a baby. They are welcome changes but changes nonetheless. Previously, I was a pretty easy to please gal as it was. I did not need a big "to do" to float my boat. Now, though, I am sickeningly easy to entertain: a gurgle, a coo, a little look is all it takes - from my daughter, of course.

Then again - I have been known to be entertained when my husband gurgles, too...

Update on my MIL

Hi everyone. I wanted to let everyone know that my mother-in-law is doing great. For those of you who do not know, she was diagnosed with a form of cancer a few months ago and had to have surgery to remove the tumor about a month ago.

I get lots of questions about her health and how she is recovering so I figured I would post it here and let everyone know that her recovery coming along very well. She has had a lot of support and help from family and friends and is staying very positive - as well she should. She is cancer free without the help of chemotherapy - the surgery removed it all and was considered a great success.

A good thing that has come out of this is that she was so touched by the outpouring of support from her friends and community that once she is able to she plans on "passing it on" and joining her church and friends and helping others who need it.

My husband and I would like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers.

First cold, check! First stomach bug.......check?

What is worse than a baby with the sniffles? A baby who is throwing up, that's what. MY GOODNESS. I can type all of this now with some thread of humor because it is over but while we were hip deep in vomiting and fevers I can tell you that no one was laughing in my house.

No one was laughing because we all had it. Sophie got hit first at daycare. I learned now a few kids through out the daycare caught this during and after the holidays and so my kid, new to daycare and all those germs, got it almost immediately. Then a few days later my husband fell down with the bug. And then I did.

What a way to spend a long weekend. Yes, when my baby got sick I prayed that I would get sick INSTEAD of her. Not that I would get sick WITH her. There are some crossed communication lines with the big guy upstairs, I think. ;-)

But hey - my hubby and I could not pay for better experience. *insert a dab of sarcasm* We have dealt with her first cold and her first stomach bug - all before she turns 4 months old. I can practically see her little body building up those immunities.

I HOPE! Please?

Officially a "Working Mom"

My day this morning started at 6:30am with the first of many little heartbreaks - waking up my little sleeper an hour and a half before she would have woken up at home. Yes, I realize its necessary to get my child up and fed so that we arrive at daycare happy - but it still hurts me to do so. I can only hope that she can tell the difference between weekends and weekdays and does not start waking us up at 6:30am on Saturday mornings.

I was actually fine all morning - I was starting to think that I would make it to work without crying one bit. Sophie had a smooth car ride to daycare - we sang along to Shakira and she sang to her little stuffed Monkey (yes, it is as adorable as it sounds to hear my 3 month old chatter away to her toys). We arrived at daycare without a fuss, I settled her in, spoke with the caregivers to give them an update on her and left to head to the office.

And then the crying started. Okay, let me be blunt - sobbing. I SOBBED. I called my husband (and then MY mommy) and sobbed like my heart was breaking and could really not pinpoint the exact reason why but it literally felt like my heart was breaking into tiny little pieces. I knew she was going to be fine; she is a good baby, a social baby. I knew that her caregiver was lucky to have such a good baby to care for and that, in turn, Sophie was going to be well cared for. But at the same time - I want to be the one with her all day, making her smile, feeding her, changing her diaper. I finally calmed down. I got to work and started counting down the hours until lunch time when I could go and visit her.

Best part of my day? Walking into that infant room to find my baby in a bouncer and to see the smile on my baby's face when she focused and saw that it was HER MAMA there to see her. We spent a half hour together cuddling and smiling at each other and I swear it was heaven on earth. There is nothing that comes close to the feeling of your child recognizing you and being thrilled to see you. Lunch was over all too soon.

Second best part of my day? Right now - it is 30 minutes until quitting time which means I get to go snatch my baby up and take her home with me.

Christmas!

I love everything about it. The sights, the smells, everything... My favorite part, though, is just the FEELING that we are living in the Christmas Season. There is nothing else like it. Obviously, this year is extra special because of our child and this being her very first Christmas - even though she is much too young to really know what is going on or to remember anything. Still, her presence alone is enough to put it all into perspective.

This is what Christmas looks like in our house this year. My cats are up to their usual antics - by continuing last year's war with the tree skirt. Our smiley baby joins the fray and just enjoys the lights on the tree. I fear that next year Sophie will be more than happy to join the cats in their war against the tree skirt but I am not sure how the cats will feel about that.

My Mom - The Blogger!

*sniff*

I am so proud of her. LOL. My non-tech inclined mom has decided to join the blogging world. If you are entertained and interested by all things children then I promise this is a blog you will love reading.

This is a fairly new endeavor for her, so be patient and check back often for updates. I must say, though, for a newbie - she has gotten off to a wonderful start.

See below to the link to Nana's Daycare Blog.

http://nanadaycare.blogspot.com/

Boyfriend, Fiance, Husband....Daddy?

This particular blog is about my husband who I am overwhelmingly in love with and I am currently in a sappy mood about. So, if you are not in the mood to read a whole segment that gushes and expounds - you might as well stop reading now. And don't say I did not warn you!

Abel has been - awesome. The last few nights I have started really having trouble getting comfortable in bed and he is right there with me, rubbing my back, rubbing out my leg cramps - without complaint and without me asking him to. I told him yesterday that just those small things make me feel like I am not alone in this process. And even though, I really am not alone in a physical way pregnancy is so bizarre and strange and new that unless you are going through it, too, you cannot truly understand what it feels like for your body to go through these changes. My friends are great. But every pregnancy is always different - so even your friends who have been in this position before have never really been there with your thoughts and emotions and feelings and discomforts. This really can be a one person process. Its amazing to me sometime that someone who will never get pregnant or ever truly understand can really be there without thinking. When I thanked him for being there, for being that support for me, he was really surprised. He could not think of what it was that he was doing different or say that he was consciencly thinking of doing things a certain way. I guess he is just smooth like that!

And before you start rolling your eyes - no, he is not perfect. We are not the perfect couple. We have our moments just like any other couple does. We get cranky and moody and irrational. But if I were to focus on those moments all of the time I would really lose the bigger picture - which is that most of the time we are not like that.

I love us as a couple and have from the very beginning. I knew when I met him that he was it for me - which was no small feat because I was definitely a serial dater and discard-er of men. I was not the type of girl to embark on a second date if there was no spark in the first. And when I did, it never worked - the spark (the CHISPA) needs to be there. And with Abel it was from date #1. It was new and exciting. I had found him! Of course, it took him a little longer to realize it, too, but not that much longer. Everything just kind of flowed for us - in spite of the long distance relationship and living well over an hour from each other. We made it work. We fell in love. We dated. We got engaged. And we got married. Boom, boom, boom - life long events just fell into place. Perfectly - as if chiseled by the hand of God - because I certainly could not have planned things out more beautifully so it had to be a power more stronger than my own that blessed us with this life.

And now we are pregnant. Expecting our first baby. A little girl who I keep picturing will look exactly like my younger sister but will probably be just as precocious as her daddy.

And the idea of him as a dad. Wow. Surreal. Seeing how exciting he gets at her kicks and at the prospect of meeting her really is such a turn on emotionally. Sappy as it is, I am so full of love some of the time that I barely know what to do with myself. This process, this pregnancy has not only made fall in love with him all over again in a whole new way - but has also made me realize what a smart cookie I was to snatch him up.

I imagine my labor and delivery and get excited at the prospect of seeing my baby girl for the first time. The feeling is too all encompassing to describe. Its already a love that wells up from the pit of my belly and spreads through me like a light. But the image of my husband, my love, seeing his child for the first time - that is what really gets me. I get emotional and excited and really, really impatient. But most of all I know that it is a moment that will stay ingrained in my memory for a lifetime. Even amidst all of the other life long, momentous events that are sure to occur.

What if you had 16 siblings?

I only had one growing up and sometimes that was a little too much. Well, latest news on Yahoo! is the birth of the Duggar Family's 17th child. A little girl. The oldest child is 19. You may have seen this family featured on the Discovery Channel (I haven't seen the show).

Lets hit the first hurdle - what they consider "fun" facts. Just a few, I am sure there are others.

1. A baby has been born in every month except June
2. The family has gone through an estimated 90,000 diapers
3. The mom, Michelle, has been pregnant for 126 months (approx 10.5 years of her life)

Can I get a moment of silence, please? These people deserve a HUGE amount of respect (or therapy and a mental evaluation). Especially since they are saying, even after the birth of their latest, that they would love more children. Apparently, with only 7 girls - they are out numbered. Can't let that happen.

The idea of my husband and I being parents and caregivers and the financial support to seventeen kids boggles my mind. I think it would boggle almost anyone's. But really - when I thought of it - think about living with 16 brothers and sisters. Of being one of 17 children who all need love, care, and attention. Of needing help with your homework, dating advice, fashion advice, a lesson in bike riding. Who is providing all of that? My guess is that it is the older siblings and not the parents.

I don't know. I am not trying to be judgemental - I think large families and children are a beautiful thing. But I also think that it can all be taken just a little too far....

Key West 2007

In July 2005, while my hubby and I were still dating, we celebrated a long weekend in Key West with a large group of family and friends for the 4th of July. We got engaged that weekend, at 11 o'clock at night, in the pool of our little hotel. Key West holds a special place for us just because of that - and because it is a hell of a good time. This past 4th, two years after our momentous engagement, we returned with my sister and brother-in-law (who actually got engaged the same weekend we did) for some summer fun and relaxation. Things were a little different this time around - we were all married and my hubby and I are 6 months pregnant with our first child. My, my how things do change!

And here we all are - at the Southernmost Point of the US. No matter how touristy it is - you really just cannot avoid taking a pic just like this one whenever you go to Key West. It is a must do. LOL. And no...we did not get to see the lights of Cuba. I am beginning to think that is a myth - I have been to Key West many times and have never seen the glow of the lights from Cuba. Cruise ships, yes, though....

My sister and brother-in-law talked us into visiting Fort Zachary Taylor Beach. For those of you who do not know, Key West is not known for its beaches. It, like the rest of the Keys, is basically an island of rock surrounded by water. Key West is much more known for its B&Bs and bars and pools, and... did I mention Bars?. In the many years I have been going to Key West, this was the first time I visited one of its beaches - if you can believe it. It was not worth it. LOL. This is, of course, just my opinion but I would recommend visiting Smathers Beach and its imported Bahamian sand rather than Fort ZT Beach and its VERY rocky terrain. If you do decide to visit Fort ZT Beach - bring water shoes. Trust me.

And just to show you that I can have fun in a cardboard box, rocky sand or no, here is a decent picture of preggo me in a bathing suit with my smiling hubby. Until I saw this picture and was able to compare my skin with hubby's - I was actually starting to think I had begun to tan.

The rest of the days of our trip followed the same lines. We found some sort of pool during the day and floated around in tepid water. It was so hot that in order to wet our bodies with cool water we actually had to find a shower because all of the pools and beaches we visited did not have water that was cooler than 78 degrees. Still, the water was better than nothing! It was HOT!

When we were not swimming, we were eating. We enjoyed food at the new Guy Harvey Bar and Grill, Margaritaville, Sloppy Joes, The Conch Republic and Key West Seafood House, and Mangoes. I will tell you that the BEST dish I had all weekend - hell, make that the best meal I had ever eaten, was dinner at The Conch Republic and Key West Seafood House. It was a special they had that night - Snapper Wellington. My GOD. A feast for the taste buds, people. Snapper stuffed with crab baked in a pastry puff, set atop a nice dollop of Hollandaise sauce. Trust me, it tasted even better than it sounds. I even took a picture of it. I will have to make sure to add it soon...

Thursday night we visited Bourbon 801 - a drag show. My very first drag show! Now that is a hell of a good time to be had. I highly recommend it if you have not seen one. I will say this, as if it was not bad enough being overshadowed by the many non-pregnant women strutting around Key West - to be overshadowed by a bunch of men dressed as women was interesting, amusing, and actually quite humbling. They were a great group. A lot of fun to talk to, watch, and listen. I did learn that they have 2 shows a night (at 9pm and 11pm) and that each and every show is different. That is 14 individual shows a week. A lot of work for them - so tip well if you do stop in! And say hi to Cookie and Dejia for me!

BTW, this is me - sad and lonely without a Margarita to call my friend... No one would listen to me when I told them that the baby wanted a Margarita. Just kidding! About the baby wanting one. Not about being sad that I could not have one...

On the last night of our trip we took in a Sunset Sail on a Catameran. I was excited about this - something fun to do that did not involve bar hopping! Woohoo! Uh yeah - it was a glorified booze cruise. LOL. One that my hubby, BIL, and sister made the most of. I think the bartenders actually lost money on our little group with their little drink price deal. It was a good time, though. We got a lot of great pictures of ourselves and the sunset. It was a little overcast that evening but that did not take away from the beauty of a Key West sunset.

Overall, our last hurrah before the baby arrives was a very good time. Yeah, it was hard not to be able to drink Margaritas or join my BIL for some Jaager Bombs - but surprisingly I was able to really let go and have a nice time inspite of some of my new limitations. Heat and all. I am so glad that we went. It was well worth it.