Splish Splash!

Today marked Sophia's first visit to the swimming pool! Yay! Luckily I have friends that are connected because not only have I not taken her to the pool this season (bad mommy!), but I haven't gotten our own neighborhood pool passes and I STILL don't have a swimming suit I would wear in public! ARG! Nonetheless, I sported a tank and some shorts and at least got a bit of a tan! ;)

Some of the gals from Baby Boot Camp and I get together on Fridays for "mommy time" so today we ventured out in the sun! All the kids had a great time, even Sophia had fun warming up and splashing along! I must say that I did not anticipate her nervousness, but surprisingly she did have a bit of anxiety at the beginning her adventure.

Here she is sitting on the step of the pool and testing the water.

Warmed up and ready to float, Mom! Here Sophia is chatting with her buddy Massimo.

Sophia and her "betrothed", Luca! Luca is about 2 months older than Sophia and is already committed to attending Charlie's old high school, Rockhurst! Ha ha!

Sophia, now extremely comfortable in the water, floated all around the pool all by herself! It was too funny! She had a great time and wasn't at all nervous about being so far from Mommy.

You can also catch a small glimpse of Emma in the bottom of the picture really testing out her lung power...what a big girl!

Out of the pool and ready to dry off with some pool side fun!

Busy Week!

One puts it together, one takes it apart

Zoe looking annoyed at my constant picture taking

Sophia and Aunt Bess playing games at Winstead's

Sophia getting some pushes from Big Cousin

My niece, Zoe, was in town this week and it is always fun to have her! Sophia was also the recipient of much love and playtime too! We got together as much as possible and played and ate. Zoe's favorite KC restaurant is Andre's so it didn't take much arm twisting for Sophia and me to join her! All the girls, minus Shelby who is still away for the summer, got together to play at Bess' the other night and it was fun to see! We were even lucky enough to have Zoe join us yesterday morning for Baby Boot Camp! We gave her quite a workout, but she still managed to play with the babies! The three of us are all boarding a plane next week to visit Zoe and her family in Seattle, so at least our goodbye was only temporary!

Plugging Along

Which of those should I pick first?

Well, this looks good...

Hmmm, not sure about this asparagus stuff after all

Well, maybe dinner was pretty delicious after all!

Well, luckily we have managed to get rid of the 2-spoon technique (but still keep it in the back pocket, just in case!) and Sophia is still eating...hooray! It can be hard to remember to take 3 spoons with you every time you leave the house!



I figured out that if she has something to eat with her hands, as opposed to just shoving a sad and empty spoon into her mouth, she is quite contented to open her mouth to the various spoonfuls of veggies that I give her.



Her old favorites still include Goldfish, Cheerios, and Puffs, which incidentally is all she ate for lunch today but nonetheless, we have expanded to other foods like turkey sausage, pork sausage, deli meat (just so-so) and little ham chunks. She also loves cheese cubes and just started eating cherries and grapes. She prefers the red grapes to the green, but will eat both if they're on her tray. She has also started to eat veggies with her hands, where as before she would just throw them on the floor and seek out the crunchies.



Whew! In just over a week we've come very far! Last night was also monumental because her dinner was almost the exact same as ours...hooray! She ate quite a bit of meatloaf, asparagus, and grapes (which we had as part of a salad, but she's not there yet), with some cheese and Cheerios thrown in, and she ate everything by herself!

Hunger Strike

Here's the double spoon trick in action!

Two spoons on the floor and one to go...

Drinking milk from a sippy like a big girl!

Sigh....well our "perfect" baby is now showing signs of a true baby complete with mood swings and that stubborn attitude! Darn-it...but come to think of it, that behavior sure does sound a lot like mommy! She has gone on somewhat of a hunger strike this past week. In fact, it started just after her doctor's visit, our theory is that she overheard the doc and is absolutely disgraced by her 95th percentile weigh-in and is showing her protest. Or maybe she's going through a phase, we're not sure, but it's one of those!



She started pushing the spoon away and refusing to eat. Okay, I thought that she was ready to start feeding herself, no biggie, except that I just made a freezer full of fresh purees, but whatever! So, I cut up some sweet potatoes and carrots for her to eat, but no go. She in fact was only interested in feeding herself Goldfish, Cheerios, and puffs--all the things that crunch, apparently. If it didn't crunch, not interested. Then she started trying to grab the spoon. Again, I thought ready to use it herself. No, not so much. She was really more excited to wave it around and fling the food across the dining room, that was way more fun than actually eating it.



So, we got some sage advice from our friends Greg and Julie to give her a spoon for each hand and then try and feed her! Well, smarts pays off I guess because it worked! Temporarily. Now, I'm just not sure when the mood will strike for her to want to eat, but let me tell you what, I shove as much as possible in there while the mouth is open and hope for the best! She is still drinking her milk, which is now switched from the bottle to the sippy with no problems, so I can't complain too much.



I'm trying to tame my inner control freak/crazy mother and tell myself that she will not starve to death and will eat when she's hungry!



Aside from eating, her sleeping habits are becoming a little different too. She's waking up a tad earlier, much to my dismay, and seeming not to sleep as soundly during the night. She also has had more "tantrums" in trying to take naps lately, very unlike her. Of course my psychosis has drawn the correlation between her not eating, therefore not having enough food in her belly which is causing her to disrupt her own sleep. Arg! Mostly, things are still very good with her sleeping, but I am beginning to notice slight changes.



Finally...I got a call from the doctor today and her hip x-rays were perfectly normal! Yipee! I figured that things were okay, but it's nice to be reassured. As far as her popping, we'll just wait and see. Hopefully she'll be walking by the time our next doctor's visit rolls around and we may have more answers, or it may just disappear, which would be better!

A Star is Born

So I took out the camera yesterday and a star truly was born. I guess she's figured out what that camera thing is and that it's purpose in life is to take pictures of her. Do ya think I have a problem?! The first time was way cute, but at least I managed to get Take 2 on film!

First Father's Day

Due to a scheduling glitch...Charlie gets Father's Day parts 1, 2, and 3...yay for him! Part 1 came early because he unexpectedly took Friday off and his Power of Pork gift box arrived before I could hide it in someone else's freezer! Oh well...he totally loved the 4 different kinds of bacon and a bacon chocolate bar! Plus, we had awesome BLTs for dinner Friday night...yummy!

Part 2 of course came today on the actual Father's Day! Yay for Daddies! Here's a pic of Daddy and Daughter and of our little one just being her silly self! Charlie got loving cards from the whole family...me, Sophia and of course Walter too! Anne hosted a Father's Day brunch at her house where we all munched on goodies and watched the parade of girls giggle and squeal from room to room! Poor Nick...he's really hoping for a boy next time!

Who knew it was so hard to get all of them to look, not to mention look happy! ;), all at the same time! Oh well, here's our generational shot of the day anyway!

Sophia enjoyed her own brunch...looks tasty!

Part 3 of Father's Day will come some time next week when the rest of Charlie's package arrives, this time it won't be packed in dry ice! All in all, I think he had a relaxing and fun day that was all dedicated to him! I love you, Baby...on behalf of both of your kids, the furry one and the not so furry one, thanks for being a great dad!

Cutest Sound Ever!

Okay, so we just gave Sophia another Baby Goldfish and she loved it! Previously she had tried them and was fairly unsuccessful as they were a little too big for her, but not today!

Anyway, she grabbed the first little fish and put it up to her mouth and literally just took a little munch of it, biting the head while still holding the body in her hand, the best part was that you could hear her two little teeth chewing it up in with a very cartoonish, chomp, chomp, chomp! Too cute!

Doctor's Report

Sophia had her 9 month doctor's appointment today, wow 9 months already!? The report was good and she continues to be a growing girl! She weighed in at a whopping 22lbs and 7oz and was 29.25 inches tall! Wowser! That puts her in the 90th percentile for height and the (gulp) 95th percentile for weight...

I believe it was her last doctor's post where I said that as long as her height percentile stayed above her weight, we'd be happy...so much for that! We're still happy, but I really have noticed how she's been putting on the weight lately! I know, I know, she'll lose it all when she walks, but I feel bad putting my 9 month old in 18-24 month clothes...is there something wrong with me!? She is fairly proportionate, but still I worry that she'll be a child who worries about weight and that just kills me! I know I'm totally going off the deep-end, but these are the things I think about! ;) But, 95th percentile and all she is adorable and happy and healthy and that's what matters!

I did mention to the doc that I have been feeling her hip pop when I pick her up sometimes, although he wasn't overly concerned he did write us a prescription to go to Children's Mercy for some hip x-rays. I was happy that he was both receptive to my concerns but after a thorough check-out by him, still decided to go ahead and send her in. He mentioned that it's still pretty early (because she's not walking yet) to notice a hip issue, but he said with her breech history it's best to know if that hip is growing into the socket correctly. The earlier the better is what we all agreed upon! I am not concerned, I think she'll be okay, but it will be nice to know for sure. Just after she was born we did a hip ultrasound that came back normal, but he said that the x-rays are more conclusive. I'll probably take her in early next week, but possibly her daddy may have time to take her tomorrow, which would be even better!

The doctor also mentioned branching out into more table food, like meat! Yikes! But after thinking it through, I've decided that I don't really need to puree it at all, and he agreed, thankfully. I can just cook up some ground beef or turkey and make it into small hunks. I also thought about shredding up some chicken breasts too. He also gave us the go ahead to start introducing some spices, so I figure some turkey sausage is also quick, easy and delicious! She began avocados, again, this week and has had a much more favorable reaction! Next on the list is pasta and easy-to-eat fruits like blueberries, strawberries, and cherries, oh my!

Overall, it was a great doctor's visit! Her next appointment is scheduled for September 19...oh, can I handle my baby being a whole year old!?

Ta-Da!!!

As of yesterday, Sophia has officially managed to pull herself up! Today, after her nap, I found her proudly standing in her crib, waiting for me to come and find her. It was so cute, but so scary! Oh, what has happened to our baby?

Look on to see some of her other attempts and a video that shows the main event!

She was looking pretty serious at pulling up to grab at her bag, but reaching from the floor was just fine!

Here she's quite content just to be hanging out on the floor and playing!

Celebrating Babies!

I hosted a twins shower for Jill this weekend and it went smashingly! My theme was children's literature, so teachery, I know, and I think it was a hit! I am a girl who appreciates a theme, so all our games and prizes coincided too! It was so much fun and all her family and friends are thrilled and anxious about the arrival of her two bundles of joy! Jill is looking and feeling great and hoping to make it a few more months until August!

Charlie and Sophia went about town and visited friends while Walter went to Doggy Day Care, leaving us to have fun, munch on food, and open presents! Luckily the kids were gone because honestly, they both would have been quite a helper getting right in there with tissue paper and tape!

Sophia gladly helped decorate by arranging the balloons

The diaper cake that mom and I made for the Mom-to-Be, complete with 70 newborn diapers, which may get used in the first day alone...ha ha!

Sophia did get some cuddle time with auntie Jill after returning home, but was much more interested in playing with her baubles! Who can blame a girl who loves jewelry!?

Sophia and I finished up our day by playing and having fun while Daddy and Walt took a much needed rest after a busy day!

Konichiwa

Ready for nap time after playing all morning in the kimono...

(For the record, I did not stand up here by myself...Mom posed me solely for picture purposes!)

Weeeeeeeeee, I LOVE the swing!

Their love cannot be squelched by a patio door!

Is this not the most adorable outfit ever?! My teacher friend, Rayma, brought this back for Sophia last summer after visiting her son in Japan. This was of course before Sophia was born therefore before we knew if she was a boy or girl, so she searched for the most gender neutral kimono available. It is made of a very lightweight material with little dragonflies all over it. It even ties on both the inside and outside just like a real kimono, adorable! (I suppose it is a REAL kimono, it's just that it's that much more adorable in baby size!)

She said that all the babies in Japan wear them and my only regret is that she only brought one back! So, anyone out there who has connections to Japan, hook me up with some more baby kimonos!

The Power of the Puff

Okay, so are you parents out there familiar with the Gerber Graduates fruit puff things??? I don't know if they go over in your house like they do here, but it seems to me that there is a strong possibility that they're laced with baby crack!

Charlie and I have dedicated this week to really focusing on Sophia perfecting some of her finger-food eating and sippy cup drinking. She's been pretty good with the cup and only mediocre with the Cheerios, but gets better every day. So, I decided to branch out a bit and I've heard about "The Puffs". On our Target run yesterday I picked some up and opened them at the checkout (after paying of course) and fed them to Sophia. I didn't really think much of it, but it was close to her snack time and I figured she'd be getting hungry. We started with the Apple Cinnamon variety for no particular reason. Ate them would be an understatement...more like inhaled with much grunting and smiling. She got more on the way to the car and more in the car. Then when we arrived home I reached to pick her up from her car seat and she spotted the container of Puffs in the bag next to her, she grunted, reached in and emerged victoriously with the entire canister in her chubby little hand.

She has really enjoyed this learning endeavor and really has gotten better at picking them up and putting them in her mouth. The only drawback is that the puffs are a little stickier than Cheerios so when she licks them and then they fall from her hand or mouth, they stick to things and are a lot grosser to clean up, but that's easy to deal with!

Overall we are plugging along with the new foods. She had yogurt for the first time yesterday and we have succeeded in going through almost the entire large container. She really likes it. I still have yet to retrieve my camera, so I can't post pictures yet, which is really too bad b/c last night she was adorable when she was sitting on daddy's shoulders and playing bongo on his head! Hilarious!

She keeps all of us on our toes, including Walter!

Success!

Well, both Sophia and I successfully made it through our night apart...hooray! Mom was a fabulous caretaker/grandma, as I knew she would be, and Sophia was a trooper. I think I stayed at least 30 minutes during my "drop off" on Friday afternoon, but thanks to terrible cell phone reception in the middle of the Kansas forests, I only called to check on them twice.

Charlie and I had a great time at our campout and were very happy we made the decision to go. More good news is that it didn't even rain on us. I think this is the first year that it hasn't, so that's a plus.

Even Walt had a fabulous time at day care and splashed around all weekend in the doggie pool. I absolutely adore his day care and they periodically send me cute and funny pictures of our little guy, which I love! I must try and get his summer hair cut appointment scheduled for next week because he is dying is this heat!

In fact the only picture I have from the weekend away is of Walter because I left my camera at Charlie's sister's house...so typical. But, I hear that my brother has a cute one of Sophia when they visited her yesterday so I'll have to see if I can find a way to get my hands on that!