Sitting up all the time now

So, Sophie sits up all the time now. It sort of feels like that's all she wants to do. If you lay her down, she gets mad. If she is leaning back, she is mad. She wants to be upright, on her own, sitting and doing her thing. She is the most fiercely independent 5 month old I've ever met!! (Wonder where she gets that from??? Mommy? And, Mommy got it from DeeRee, perhaps?)




"It's ok, Mommy... I don't have a fever anymore. You can take this silly washcloth off my head, ok?"

"What are we gonna do now?"

Happy 5 Month Birthday, Sophia!

Today is Sophie's Five Month Birthday!! Poor kid is home sick from "school" because she had that darn Pc vaccine yesterday and it made her sick again. She woke up in the middle of the night tossing and turning and was up from about 3-4:30. This morning when she woke up she was very unhappy, which is totally not like her (since the
"dark times" ended) and was crying and fussy from the moment she woke up. I've been so paranoid since I brought her home from her vaccines yesterday (I've been nervous since she spiked a 105.4 fever last time she had the Pc vaccine) that I've been checking her for fever about every 30 mins. When she first woke up, she didn't have a fever but by the time I had showered and got ready for work, she was up to a low fever of about 100.4. This is exactly what happened last time with this vaccine so I gave her tylenol and decided to stay home with her instead of sending her into daycare. She seems much better and hasn't had a fever again since about 11am but she still isn't herself. Poor little birthday girl!! Tomorrow is another day...

Today Sophie's PopPop Stumpo had knee replacement surgery and we have heard that he did well in the operating room and is in recovery now. Hooray!!!

And finally, Ollie has been very bad lately. Several nights now we have found him IN THE Co-Sleeper right next to Sophie when she is sleeping. Ollie knows he is not allowed in the Co-Sleeper even if Sophie is not in there. And, just last night while Sophie was upstairs safely in the co-sleeper and behind a shut door to keep her feline brother Ollie out, Jim and I heard a loud rustling sound while trying to listen to Michelle Obama. We turned around and Ollie had jumped up and into her Pack N Play. Why is he getting so jealous and/or protective now?? Hard to say but hopefully Ollie will grow out of this phase soon.


Since everyone seemed to enjoy the last eating video, I thought I'd post another. This is taken yesterday when she was feeling more like herself.

Newsflash!

This just in... Sophie just sat up on her own for the first time. She was sitting on her playmat with her Daddy and he let go of her, very gently, and she stayed sitting up all on her own! She seemed very proud of herself and very excited, like she knew she was doing something big. We both clapped and hoorah'ed and yes, I even got weepy. Then Sophie got upset. We don't know if she was freaked out that she had just done such a big girl thing or if our excitement made her upset or maybe a little of both but wow, what a moment. Such a big girlie!!

It's too much, really...

I almost can't take it. On a multiple times daily basis I am awed and amazed by such cuteness...

Sophie loves pears

What can we say? The girl loves her pears! In addition to her rice cereal, she now eats bananas, apples, and pears. Isn't it wonderful?!!

New Photos

Sophia is doing really great! She seems to be loving life overall though "school" is another story. (This past week was a tough week at school. I'm not sure if it's because she got weird sleep last weekend or because she had her first little cold or if it's just the length of being away for two full days but daycare was tough this week for all of us for sure.) She has started to eat mashed bananas and other starter baby foods such as pears and apples in addition to her cereal. She now sits in her new highchair sometimes to have her meals. Usually Daddy feeds her in the morning and recently Ollie helped out, too. She also has a new "bolster" seat which helps her sit up by herself. She seems to enjoy this also. Lots of fun to be had at home these days!!

Goodbye Sweet Violette Angel

Our friends have lost their beautiful baby girl and are having her funeral today. Our hearts are so heavy for them in their sadness. We will all see Violette Noellle again one day.

Goodbye darling Angel. You touched all of our lives in ways you will never know... We send you and your family all of our love and all our deepest comfort and support today.

We love you, Violette Noelle!

The Cord

We are connected,
My child and I, by
An invisible cord
Not seen by the eye.

It's not like the cord
That connects us 'til birth
This cord can't been seen
By any on Earth.

This cord does it's work
Right from the start.
It binds us together
Attached to my heart.

I know that it's there
Though no one can see
The invisible cord
From my child to me.

The strength of this cord
Is hard to describe.
It can't be destroyed
It can't be denied.

It's stronger than any cord
Man could create
It withstands the test
Can hold any weight.

And though you are gone,
Though you're not here with me,
The cord is still there
But no one can see.

It pulls at my heart
I am bruised...I am sore,
But this cord is my lifeline
As never before.

I am thankful that God
Connects us this way
A mother and child
Death can't take it away!

Author Unknown

Photo Shoot with Daddy

You can see more photos from the photo shoot on the Smug Mug site.

We are all still just shaken to the core here by the news this week of the tragic loss of our friends' baby girl, Violette Noelle, who was only a month or so younger than Sophia. We continue to hug Sophie a little tighter than usual and basically must put all the awful thoughts out of our heads. We continue to send so much love and our deepest sympathies to the family in this terrible time. On Saturday, the family has asked that we all wear Violette in honor of little Violette Noelle. We would love to go to the services but they are being held in the early morning and the drive is nearly four hours each way. Unfortunately, I just don't think we can do that to Sophie to have her in the car for eight hours in one day. We will be there in spirit though and will wear violette and keep the family close to our hearts on Saturday and the days to come.

Most Awful News

We are so deeply saddened to learn of a horrible tragedy that took our friend, Violette, away from her family way too soon. Violette was born on May 10th and had a horrible fall which her tiny little heart just could not withstand. Apparently she bounced out of her chair and onto the kitchen floor. I am so shaken by this because I frequently have had Sophie on the kitchen counter in her pampassan vibrating seat and though I never left her alone, these horrible things can and do happen. I will never ever do this again. And, please to all you parents out there, do not put your babies on high counters or unattended anywhere - it is too scary to think of what could happen.

Violette has been taken from her family way too soon. No mom or dad should ever have to endure this. It is with so much sadness in our hearts and so much grief that we send our deepest sympathies to Monty Q, MomBean Tracey, and the entire family. We can only say that Heaven is a sweeter place now for having dear Sprout there so early. We might not stop hugging or holding Sophie for a long, long time. Please stop by and send Monty and MomBean and the whole family your love. They will need it this week and beyond...

Walking the boards

This video was taken a few weekends ago when we went to visit Dee Ree and Pop Pop down the shore. Sophie is "walking the boards" and having a great time.

What a week

What a big week we've all had here! Sophie started "school" at the Penn Children's Center. We never in a million years thought she'd get in so early (she's been on the wait list since February but they told us it was a 15-18 month wait for infants so we figured she wouldn't even be an infant anymore by the time they could take her). But, I called a few weeks ago (because you had to call every two months to let them know you were still interested) and they said because the days we were requesting were flexible, they had an opening for infants and could take her now.

Sophie has been assigned to the Little Ladybugs room. Her main teacher is Ms. Robin and the other teachers are Ms. Nora, Ms. Arlene and Ms. Ethopia. They are all amazing women. I've gotten to spend some quality time with them this week and I have to say that I'm very very impressed.

This was technically her orientation week so she went for two hours on Tuesday, three hours on Wednesday and six hours today! On Tuesday, I stayed with her the full two hours. It was suggested in the handbook we got that parents stay the entire first day for the full two hours, then on the second day they are encouraged to stay as well and the third orientation day they can stay or leave as they see fit. Being with her on that first day was really to create a comfort level I guess. I basically held her and nursed her the entire time. Day 2 was tough. Really tough. I actually had to leave pretty early because of a committment at work so I basically dropped her off and after about 20-25 mins I left. When I left, she was crying. When I came back to get her she was crying. It was so hard and so sad and I felt terrible. But, they said she had a decent day. She didn't cry too much (they said) and even slept in her crib there. Today was even better. When I left her this morning, she seemed ok and wasn't crying. I couldn't take it so I called at 10:30 and they said she was doing ok (not great but ok). I decided to go check on her at noon. Well, when I walked in she was lying on the floor playing and talking with Ms. Nora. They said she had gone through almost all of the milk I brought and played and talked and was rolling around on the floor and everything. So I felt great that she was having such a great day. When I went back to pick her up around 2:30 (they asked me to come back earlier because she had so little milk left) they said she was "out cold" sleeping so I decided to come back at 3pm. (I sat in the car and did email to wait until she woke up.) When I went in to get her she was awake and being held by another of the infant teachers from a different class and they all told me she had a great first day. They said she was talking and laughing and rolling around on the floor. They had her in a highchair eating more cereal and she even held her bottle herself. (She has never done these things at home mind you.)

They also happened to have a unplanned fire drill today and so Sophie got wheeled outside in the crib for about 30 - 40 mins. They said that she was fine and actually slept through the alarm (where as other kids were crying). They couldn't believe she could sleep through it like that!! Sounds to me like she loves "school" and is going to really enjoy it and all the new experiences and new friends she's making there. After we left, she fell asleep and took a 2 hour nap!! (They must have really tuckered her out!)

So... all in all I'd say it was a great first week. Being able to spend time in the daycare and get to know her teachers has really made me appreciate how much they love the kids in their care and how sweet and wonderful they all are. Knowing that Sophie had a good day today makes me feel so much better about the whole thing. Next week, we start up for two full days and I just know now that we're all going to be just fine.

Other than daycare, Sophie is just enjoying the whole business of eating so much. Her daddy now feeds her cereal in the morning (two bowls lately) and then she sits and watches him as he eats his cereal too. This weekend we're going to start on mashed bananas!!

"I can hold my own spoon, Daddy!"


Loving my cereal so much


Over the weekend, Sophie had her first trip out to Pottstown. We had dinner with Nanny and Poppy and Sophie got to meet lots of her Oxenford family. Daddy also really got a kick out of bringing his daughter back to his own hometown.

Poppy showing me some real spoons

Oh, sorry Poppy! Did I bonk you on the head with the spoons?

Lots to say

Sophie has always had a lot to say. She's been talking up a storm for weeks now (and even in the early days she was um, shall we say, extremely vocal about her opinions of things). It is so much fun to watch and listen to her "talking" and see how the different vocalizations sit with her. It's sorta like she's trying them out to see how she likes them and what kind of reactions they might elicit. For example, lately she has been doing this extended low growl sound. Not a clue what it means but she likes doing it for sure. Mostly though it's just mixed babble sounds like this...
(...with apologies to Kim B. - no, this is not HD but I'm working on it!)