At Last

I have posted several times about Sophie's sleeping. To be honest, it has been probably the most frustrating thing that I have faced with Sophie. I am a very by the book person. I follow the rules. Therefore, I thought that I could do the same thing with my children. Even though I "knew" that not every child is the same and if I had a nickel for every time I heard, "You can read all the books, but your child will never follow what they say" I would be one rich woman. So why is it that it is just now sinking in?! It just hit me that Sophie's sleeping is part of her. She will always struggle with it more than likely. A friend of mine has a daughter that is the same way. She never slept when she was a baby and still has problems. A couple of days ago they were watching Sophie and Madison told her mom that Sophie reminded her a lot of herself because she had such a hard time settling down. I think that Madison hit the nail on the head....Sophie has a hard time settling down! Bless her heart she just doesn't want to miss ANYTHING so she fights sleep as if it were the most horrible thing on earth. I have tried transitioning Sophie from play to sleep by singing to her while slow dancing. It helped but not very much. For the few that read this I would love any suggestions!

My baby is growing up!

I was just looking through my album from the summer on FB. I went to the first picture of Sophie which was taken at the beginning of June. I was SHOCKED at how teeny she looked. I guess being with her everyday I don't see the drastic changes in Sophie. Even though I know that they are taking place I just don't see it as obviously as others may. She has lost that little baby look. She now is favoring like looks of a toddler more than anything. She has developmentally taken off the past couple of weeks. I have to admit that it is bittersweet. I love that she is healthy, but have a twinge of sadness that it is all passing so quickly. I have never been one of those mothers that wishes things to pass. Even when I was getting absolutely no sleep I wasn't not living for the next stage because I knew that I would never get those moments back and that Sophie even though she is still totally dependent on me is learning independence - if that makes sense. It hit me today that every day Sophie is gaining independence and one day she'll have enough to make it on her own. Learning independence doesn't start in middle school, high school, etc...it's a little bit everyday from the day they're born. There is so much that Sophie can do now that I had to do for her when she was younger. Sorry...didn't mean to get in to that...it was just my revelation for the day. Anyways...here are the pictures to compare her growth...

Sophie LOVES to bang things. She is constantly grabbing and feeling everything. Eventually she will start banging on it. Well, my mother decided to let her play the piano. Sophie LOVED it!Sophie really likes music as well -when I was pregnant with her she would go crazy moving all around whenever she heard music!...so she gets to do two things she loves at once, ha! She also loves to have her feet propped up...yes, she finally has at least one thing from me :). The pictures below are priceless!

Preparing for finger races, haha!!

Sissy, in the video below you will see that you have to start training your fingers very early! It starts by telling them what you expect of them!

Sorry for the poor quality and the angle! Sophie will stop doing whatever it was she was doing EVERYTIME she sees the camera so I have to hide it!

Vaca 2009

We just got back home from our vacation in Daytona Beach. It was great hanging out with Blake and Sarah! And getting a tan wasn't all that bad either :). Our day pretty much consisted of...eating Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast, going to the pool/beach while Sophie took her nap in the stroller, went up for lunch, then back out to the pool/beach, then back up for dinner. We did find the most AMAZING restaurant there!! It's not much to look at, in fact, when we pulled up I thought, "There is not way I'm eating here!" However, I sucked it up and I'm so glad that I did! It's called NY pizza. The make their sauce and dough fresh every morning. It's WAY better than Olive Garden or even Carrabas! Plus it's cheaper. The lady that owns it is the sweetest elderly lady that pretty much does everything from cooking to serving. It's authentic Italian food that is to die for! If you're ever in Daytona you have to check it out...and don't be scared by the outside appearance! It's on the right corner of International Speedway and A1A. Trust me you won't be disappointed! Below is a link to Sarah's photo album on facebook for all my family that doesn't have access to FB.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/album.php?aid=2065679&id=66502271&ref=mf

Cutest hiney every!!

This morning I was sitting with Sophie while she played on her activity mat. As she was playing she rolled over and noticed the pole in front of her. She drug herself to the pole using only her arms. It was the cutest thing! Then she started to try and crawl. I knew that I didn't have time to get it with the video camera so I used my phone - that's why it's so blurry! My favorite part is her little hiney dancin' around while she was trying to get her legs working to crawl :)!

Crying it out = Ripping my heart out

Last week at Sophie's check up the doctor said that Sophie needs to be sleeping through the night. (She was still waking up every 2 hrs) So for the past week we have been letting her cry it out. It has been AWFUL!!!! I hate every second of it! Her doctor sounded so confident that in "3-7 days" she would be sleeping great. Well, I knew that my stubborn daughter would probably take the full 7. However, last night was night 8 and I'm not seeing any signs of her sleeping through the night. I was doing ok with the crying, but now it is really starting to get to me. The whole week I have kept telling myself that this is the best thing for Sophie - like the doctor said - but as I was leaving her room just now I looked back -big mistake!!- and her little precious face was so upset. We are making progress though - that is what I have to keep reminding myself of...three months ago when I was letting her cry it out she wouldn't stop crying until I got her rather that was 5 minutes or 45 minutes. I guess she did just need a little extra security for those months - I read (in Babywise) that babies who suffer from acid reflux have a hard time establishing sleep patterns because they are constantly waking up because they are uncomfortable. The book went on to say that you should comfort them and then put them back to bed. This is probably where the problem started. Sophie became use to me comforting her back to sleep. Every time she woke up (which was usually every 2-3 hrs on a good night or 7-9 times on a bad night/every 20 minutes into her nap) I was there. I just keep replaying what the doctor said, "her immune system needs her to be sleeping through the night" Eeesh...it's not easy being a parent and from what I hear it's only going to get more difficult.

Summer Fun

It has been a great couple of weeks here in the Sunshine State. Although it hasn't been much of that lately, ha! I have to admit that I love the summer afternoon down pours! Especially now that I can stay home and watch it from my comfy, cozy home and not have to be out in it!

My mom was with us for a week and what a blessing it was! She always is such a big help when she comes. Sophie is such a nanny's girl!! It's always "move over, momma, Nanny is in town" when my momma is here. She'll have nothing to do with me. One night she was crying so I went to get her, but oh no, that wasn't good enough...she wanted her nanny and as soon as my mom took her she was fine. I'm glad that she has this security with my mom! That's the way it is suppose to be. We miss you, Nanny!!

After my mom left on Monday Sophie and I headed to Daytona Beach to spend some time with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousin for a few days. I always enjoy spending time with them!! Here is a picture of Sophie is in her lil' two piece (it's from my phone so it's pretty poor quality...i forgot my camera)! I love it...

I always miss my family after they're gone!! For days I'll have that homesick feeling. It's no fun seeing them go! Hopefully someday soon I'll be able to live near them!!

Sophie went for her 6 month check up yesterday! I can't even believe how fast this past half a year has gone!! Anywho...she is in the 90% for her weight and the 40% for her height, ha! She's just perfect I think! The doctor said she is "thriving"! Her personality has come out in full force these past couple of weeks! She is so sweet, fun, joyful, and strong-willed. Wonder where she gets that from :)! She can get mad real quick! She'll throw her little arms down and make this grunting scream if she didn't like something. I couldn't help but laugh at first, but now it's becomming more frequent and not so funny. I talked to her ped and she said to distract her when she does this, but not to give in to her. I couldn't imagine a more perfect child! I'm so blessed!

We are going on vacation next week to Daytona Beach with some dear friends of ours! We can't wait! Poor Joe needs a break!! Then we are heading to Kentucky for my birthday at the beginning of August and the middle of August I'm going to Lee to help my cousin move into the dorms! Fun times ahead!