More Schedule Changes

I don't know what you're talking about, Mom, I am NOT tired.

Does this look say it all or what?? Although Sophia has continued to be an awesome sleeper at night, she is beginning to resist those daytime naps. She is truly afraid she's going to miss something, I think. I have been putting off trying to get her on a consistent nap schedule because it's really more work for me. I really have mixed emotions about it.

On the one hand, it will be nice to get her on a schedule so that she doesn't get that late afternoon crankiness, and I will have a guaranteed bit of time to get some things done around the house...but on the other hand...this now means that I will have to be home during a certain time and I will have to actually plan my outings and my lunch dates around this. Hmmmm.

One of the things I have loved best about this working from home gig is the ability to make lunch dates. It is so Johnson County wife of me, but truly I love it. A scheduled nap will no doubt put a kink into many a lunch plans, but ah, motherhood isn't without sacrifice I guess!

The doctor said now's the time to start working on it. So for the past few days I have been experimenting with putting her down in her crib. I haven't actually found a time that I'm consistent with, but we're conquering the first step of actually using her bed! This has been amazing helpful as you may have guessed. I do think that she understands this is place to sleep and her cries are mostly out of protest of being left alone. Today, though, she barely cried at all and is still asleep after over an hour...hooray!

Caucus-Schmaucus

Okay, okay, I know that this is Sophia's blog, but trust me if she were old enough to know what was going on, she would be outraged too!

So, this has been a hectic week with the Super Bowl, the greatest day of the year in Charlie's opinion, followed by Super Tuesday, always a highlight of any election year. This year for Super Tuesday, Kansas decided to hold a democratic caucus in lieu of a primary. Remember now, that KS is run by a legislature that is controlled by the Republicans and they just couldn't seem to rustle up the money needed to hold a primary for the Dems. So, hey...let's caucus! What a grand idea, or was it?!

For those of you living here you have probably already seen on the news what a nightmare this caucus turned out to be. With only three location sites in our entire county, each one was overrun by over 2,000 people waiting to exercise their right to vote. Quite honestly, I didn't even know there were that many Democrats in the entire state, much less my county! But the point here is this: why on earth did the planners of this event so grossly underestimate its draw? This is one of the most important elections in our lifetime and there has continued to be an all out battle between Hillary and Obama to get the party nomination. I continue to be baffled at how both local and national media coverage seemed to think that everything would be "clear" after Super Tuesday! Hello???!

Without giving you all the nitty-gritty details, at my caucus site there were well over 2,000 people who all waited for hours on end in the freezing sleet and snow to cast a vote. I am proud that Mom and I were some of the people who persevered to make our voices heard. In this upcoming year of more and more campaigns I urge all of you to make your voice heard. Go and vote as often as possible, become an informed decision maker, and fight for change, no matter who your candidate, because this country is in dire need! And whatever you do, write your congressperson and demand a primary, by golly! Oh, and one last thing, because I can't resist, it so utterly apparant after yesteday's debacle why it was that President Elect Gore could never take office! The hanging chads may have met their match with the KS caucus! This country needs to put democracy back in our country before moving on to others!

For you KS Republicans out there, your caucus is this Saturday. Please go and vote, and while you're at it, vote for McCain...we can easily beat him!

Oh, I Remember Them!

Sophia has recently rediscovered her feet! Many of you remember that Sophia was breech, Frank Breech to be exact. That means that she had her feet folded up into her face the entire time. When she was first born she would bob her feet near her face all the time, but that was mostly because she was still kinda stuck in that position! But, since she's unfolded, she forgotton about her long lost playthings. Well, each day those little tootsies come closer and closer to her mouth...she hasn't achieved the toe-suck yet, but it's coming soon!

She has also discovered her tongue and is constantly rolling it around and sticking it in and out of her mouth. She makes sounds while she's doing this and is just absolutely enthralled by her new trick. The latest video shows her exploring both her tongue and her feet as she entertains herself as Mommy changes diapers!

How to Wear Out a Baby...

Step 1: Wash the baby

Step 2: Dry the baby

Step 3: Dress the baby

Step 4: Let the baby play until worn out!

More Shelby

Okay, I just had to add some more cute pics of Shelby and her never ending birthday---oh, the joys of being 12!! After the family party she was lucky enough to have a birthday party with her friends at a local Holiday Inn (actually the same one where we had our wedding reception) where they got to eat pizza, swim, play, and generally create havoc as only children do best.

Charlie and I were invited as guests of Stacy and Pam, not Shelby, to keep them company and entertain them for a while before they were surely up all night listening to the crunching of potato chips, giggling, whispering, and wondering exactly what was going on in the next room! We had a blast hanging out and Sophia slept through the whole thing, so it was perfect.

I was struck however, and really the main reason for wanting to post this, at how willing this group of girls was to pose and look cheeky for picture after picture. I wondered if I would be so sure standing bikini-clad amongst strangers, dripping wet, and smiling for the camera---Uh, no I would not. In this day and age of young people being so much more consumed by pressures from the media and elsewhere to have a certain look and to be so skinny, I was refreshed to see a group of girls throw out that notion and just have fun. They looked adorable and were truly enjoying themselves. It was a perfect moment of kids being kids, another notion that seems to be lacking in this country lately! Although these thoughts really make me sound kind of old, now that I'm a mom, I think even more about the pressures put on little girls and the pressures of just growing up and being a kid in this crazy new time of technology and sex. I hope that Sophia will grow up with many of Shelby's same traits: kindness, sense of humor, and a knack for having fun!

Growing Baby!

Sophia's doctor's appointment went very well yesterday! She measured in at a whopping 27" and 15 pounds! Woweee! I was a little nervous that she was gaining too much weight because she seems to eat a ton...although she doesn't look big, I was still being the nervous mother! He said that she is the 95th -100th percentile for height and the 75th for weight, so no need to worry because her body can handle that much food. Charlie said he's happy as long as her percentile for height is always higher than her weight.

We also talked a lot about her spitting up. If you haven't had the pleasure of feeding Sophia, you may not know this, but she is the Queen of Spew! I tried a formula that was specially designed to help with spitting up and although I was a bit skeptical, I think it really helped. I was nervous that her doctor would immediately try and put her on a drug like Zantac, and I'm not so into that. It was the contrary, however, he gave us some good tips on how to see if we can help her control the spitting before we go to drugs. In fact, he even said that Zantac, and the like, are the most over-prescribed drugs for babies right now. I believe it, I've heard from a lot of people that there baby is or was on it. If it is medically necessary, I will be okay with it, but I'd like to save it as the last option.

She did have some adverse reactions to her shots again, but we tried to pre-empt the strike by giving Motrin immediately after the doctor visit. It helped...a little. Overall, the doctor was very pleased with her progress and commented on how strong and cute she was. He also said that she was the happiest baby he'd seen all day...hooray for that!

Brrrrrr!

Even Walter likes to spend time reading!

Due to the frigid temperatures of late, we have been spending lots of time indoors. One of Sophia's favorite indoor activities is reading. Today I read her a book and when we finished, she cried. So, I read another, and another, and another! She is generally just riveted and looks at all the pictures as I read and turn the pages! Hopefully this baby will take after those of us who love reading! Aunt Cathy got her two books for Christmas that we just adore, Go Dog Go being one of the favorites. Aunt Ellyn sent some books too that have a few too many words yet, but we love looking at the pictures. Plus, one of those books was my dad's favorite story growing up so Sophia really has a special treat waiting for her! Yesterday on a shopping trip with Pam I picked up three great books at Gordman's all for $0.99 each...love a bargain! I realized I should really hit up more close-out type stores because they have new things for great prices!





Well, on another note, I have officially stopped the pumping. I had a mini-breakdown about it yesterday and did cry, but I'm doing better today. I realized that it was time when it was taking more than a day just to get one bottle's worth of milk. So, I have a small stash in the freezer that we're going to use up and then it's going to have to be 100% formula. I feel good that I went as long as possible and there really wasn't much else I could do to help stimulate my supply, I tried many things, but I still feel sad. I really shouldn't worry, Charlie and I were both formula fed and I've talked to a few moms recently who have always done formula, and by the looks of her, my child is not malnourished! :) I suppose it is just another example of how things change when your child actually arrives, nothing ever really does goes as planned, does it!





Sophia has her 4 month doctor's visit on Tuesday, so I'll post again soon with updates from the doc! I can't believe she's already four months old...oh how time flies!