What a birthday

This weekend was Sophie's 1st birthday party which we decided to keep to just immediate family to try and minimize any possibility of the birthday girl melting-down and getting too overwhelmed. Grandma Kathy and Grandpa David drove all the way up from Charleston, SC again to be here for the party and it was great to have them in town all weekend. For all those far-away relatives and cousins and friends who weren't with us, we know you were all there celebrating in spirit, too!!

To add to the birthday excitement, on Friday night Sophie contracted a nasty nasty case of something called diaper burn. Poor child had screaming red sores on her bum and literally was shaking and wailing when we tried to change her diaper. The next day we were able to get some special cream, silver sulfadiazine, that helped it almost immediately. She still has the red sores but they seem to hurt so much less and are going away slowly but surely. So, it's pretty amazing that the Birthday girl did so well for her big party. She took a decent, though not great, afternoon nap and when the guests started to arrive she took it all in stride. A few times she got a little overwhelmed but we'd just take her outside or into a quiet area and she would be fine again. When it was time to give her the cake, she really was not interested and again just sort of mushed the icing around and then wanted no parts of it. (This is what she did on her actual birthday too except she sent the cupcake flying over her highchair that night.) All in all it was a great birthday week and we are so grateful for this incredibly year of discovery and love with our little angel. Here's to the next 12 months!!!

Happy 1 Year Birthday

What a year!!! This first year of Sophie's life has gone by in a heartbeat. I can only imagine how fast the years to come will go. In the past year Sophie has learned so many things. She's learned to breathe air, to laugh, to sit up, to eat, to stand by herself, to walk and so much more. Last night we could have sworn she said "bye" to Mr. Chen. She is such a strong-willed, funny, intelligent and beautiful little girl. Jim and I are so blessed! We wish our baby girl the happiest 1st birthday any baby could ever have.

We love you very very much, Sophia Grace!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

Do you believe that one year ago today this was me???? Here's what I looked like night I entered this crazy world. I seemed happy enough then despite the birthing ordeal, right? What a crazy year it's been - so many new experiences, so many new friends!!! Here's to the next 12 months!!

Birthday greetings

What a great time Sophie has had receiving all these wonderful gifts and cards family and friends have been sending (thank you so much sweet family and friends)!!! She loves opening packages and cards and we keep all the musical cards right by her books so she can open them and listen to them whenever she wants. Here she is rocking out to the birthday card Grandma and Grandpa MacDougall sent her!!

Birthday week

Well, it's Sophie's Birthday Week and we were feeling pretty excited about it until she got sick yet again. Do you believe it? Sick on your 1st Birthday Week? It just 'aint right. We are hoping that it will be one of those short colds and that some extra TLC and sleep (fingers crossed) will knock it out quick.

Random moments from the week

It's been another exciting week for Sophie!

On Sunday we got invited to Dee Ree and Pop Pop's house for a yummy Sunday dinner (thanks Dee Ree and Pop Pop!). On Monday it was still pretty cold but we went to our friend Leila's house and played with the kids and went to the park. On Tuesday it was a very busy day here inside because I had a work thing so Sophie got to watch extra videos while sitting in her chair (I *think* this was a hit though I even had Finding Nemo queued up as a standby and she really wasn't into it). Then later on Tuesday afternoon, we went and had her St. Pat's photoshoot to get us out of the house and take advantage of the cute bow moments while they lasted.

Wednesday the weather broke and so we went to the Zoo! Our favorite part of this trip was again getting to feed the geese and the peacocks while eating lunch. I had saved up all our old bread and took a big bag just for this purpose. Sophie enjoyed it so much but at one point she took a piece of bread for herself (it was from the freshest loaf) and had it in her hand. I turned around and no joke, the goose beak (or bill or whatever it's called) was wrapped on her little clenched first with her bread in it. Sophie didn't even flinch. I don't think it bit her or anything but of course I was scared and pulled her away. I'm amazed at how nonplussed she was about the whole thing. THEN, a gorgeous peacock came walking over to us and we had him all to ourselves. Sophie was so close she could practically ride him! We fed him bread and looked at his beautiful head and feathers. What fun!!

Yesterday, we stayed in so Sophie could get some good naps in because she's been pretty tired this week and also is teething really bad again. Of course, despite best efforts there was no napping happening so instead late in the day we went to the store and ordered her birthday cake - how exciting!! And for those of you in the northeast area, I didn't know that Acme has a promotion to give away a free 1/4 sheet birthday cake for your child's first birthday (or $15.99 toward a larger cake). Pretty great, huh?

Today, we will meet up with Dee Ree and Uncle Bubba and his girlfriend Theresa at the Please Touch Museum. What a week, huh???

Happy St. Patty's Day

Sophie got the coolest present in the mail yesterday - it was a great tee-shirt with San Francisco on it and some hair bows and clips made by our friend Susie (Kiera's mommy) in Petaluma. So I dressed Sophie in the green and white sweater her Grandma Kathy gave her and put the bow in her hair and she just looked so darn cute I decided to have some photo shoots. First, I took her outside in the afternoon and we had some photo fun out in the sun. Then, on an errand at Babies R Us, I decided to use my free 8x10 coupon at their Kiddie Kandids studio and had some professional photos taken, too. Oh, I am apparently a real sucker for bows. Too bad she must be monitored closely while wearing them because in the morning she had it off at one point and I felt it and it was wet (I think she was using it as a teether). Then, when we got home from Babies R Us, it had fallen half-way down her head so I had to take it out. Bows must be used judiciously in this house for now but man are they fun! Thanks again Susie and Kiera!!

Visit with Nana Mary and Uncle Ken

On Friday Sophie and I went to meet Nana Mary for a visit at our happy place, McDonalds! We met her there last time as well and had so much fun. When we got there, guess who else was there? Uncle Kenny!! It's the first time Sophie got to meet her Uncle Ken so it was such a great surprise. Sophie had a wonderful time having lunch (no happy meal for her yet though) with Nana Mary and Uncle Ken and then walking around with Nana Mary waving to all the people (mostly the elderly set) having their lunch. A nice old man made a butterfly with his hands that apparently Sophie really enjoyed. Sophie was waving so much and greeting everyone so nicely that somebody even called her the Mayor of McDonalds!!

Also on Friday we went to the Spring Chicken Kids consignment sale and got some really great stuff! We were actually there when it opened to the public and it was total mahem but totally worth it because we got a new ride-on toy for Sophie and four spring jackets (among other things) very cheap. After our lunch with Nana Mary and Uncle Ken we went back to the sale so Nana Mary could see what they had. Nana Mary bought Sophie the cutest plush ride-on toy, too. Thanks, Nana Mary!! You are too kind to spoil Sophie so much!!

Train talk and other amazing 11 month 3 week old feats and accomplishments

Sophie recently has started to do the neatest thing. She walks herself over to Jim's new still in the box O-gauge train set that I gave him for Christmas and she stands there and points to the different trains and the logos and words and talks and talks. She is clearly telling us about all the trains and cool things on this great big orange box. It is so fun to watch her go at it!! She really is a very verbal child. Sometimes she talks like she's a politician. She points emphatically or bangs her pointer finger on her highchair tray and talks and talks. Sometimes she taps her fingers on the tray and talks or holds both hands up and talks. It's the best.

Other amazing and wonderful things going on with Sophie these final weeks of her first year of life:
1. Two new teeth have come in on top. This possibly explains A LOT in terms of a) 2am wake-ups b) general fussiness
2. Lately she has started to play with her hair when she's sleepy. Realize of course that this means she has enough hair to play with and that she's old enough to develop such self-soothing habits/quirks.
3. Her hand is all chewed up from her biting it. I give her teethers, bagels, and other things to try and distract her but she loves to bite her own hand best apparently.
4. The cold was relatively short lived. She still has stuffiness but no fever and overall much improved since that first real day of being sick.
5. She walks end to end through the house now without any help and usually without falling down.
6. Did I tell you she climbed TWO stairs the other day? Oh, I did already, huh?

Oh, there's so much more I'm forgetting I'm sure. I can't believe she is going to be 1 year old soon... Mere days in fact. You can expect me to say this a lot on the blog in the next week or two.

A New Month, A New Cold

Playing at Smith Playhouse

Hanging with my "boyfriend" Max




It's been a wonderful couple of days but Sophie caught a cold as of yesterday. On Friday we went to Smith Memorial Playhouse with our good friends the Powells and on Saturday we had a long overdue holiday brunch with our friends at Mike and Bob's new place. Yesterday, however, poor Sophie started to feel sick and have a runny nose and a small fever (the highest it got was about 100.1). She had a very tough night falling asleep but today she has seemed better and better as each hour passes and she's upstairs sleeping (and has been for a few hours now). In other news, she climbed two steps today. Lord help me - it's definitely time for a gate!

Fun ways to spend a day

Well, in these winter doldrums when her outside swing is frozen over with snow Sophie still finds many ways to keep busy all day. Here's a small sampling of some of her favorite activities.

Bib inspection


Playing with keys

Taking everything out of the diaper bag

Chasing the cats

Sharing bread with Ollie

Generally just having fun and exploring all there is to explore

Sleep - the final frontier

Well, sleep challenges continue to vex us all here at Chez Oxenford. Last night Sophie was up at 2am again. This is probably the 5th or 6th time in two weeks of this early morning wake-up parties. These wake-ups last about 2 hours and even though she is clearly exhausted nothing will get her back to sleep until she is ready to sleep. So, we end up watching Baby Einstein videos or reading and eating cheerios. Honestly, Jim and I feel more sleep deprived now than the "dark days" when she cried and cried. According to the sleep experts in the many and various books we're reading, there are many possible reasons for these wake-ups including poor sleep onset associations, developmental milestones, separation anxiety, lack of schedule, bedtime too early, bedtime too late, possible readiness for nap elimination, teething, ear infections, temperament, alignment of stars, etc... So the answer - who knows. Who knows why. Or how long. We just have to wait and see and try to make modifications to the routines and see what happens, I suppose. We did have a couple of good nights there in a row without the wake-ups so there was some light at the end of the sleep deprivation tunnel for a little while at least. We'll keep you posted of course but in the meantime, keep sending us those good sleep vibes and prayers, ok??? Thanks!!!

Smile Aunt Pat

Aunt Pat needs a pick me up so we decided to post more of the bathtime fun videos for her to cheer her up. Enjoy and feel better, Aunt Pat!!!