Just an update

Well, life is back to normal and I am back at work. It is okay. I do really miss her during he day.

The Panda Bear is changing everyday. She is crawling, going from lying to sitting independently, eating lots of fruits and veggies, pulling up, getting teeth, trying to use the sippy cup, picking up objects with thumb and index finger, clapping, finding every electrical cord in our house, passing items from one hand to another, saying da da, no no, na na, ga ga, ma ma(only when she is really angry go figure), and laughing up a storm. Can you see the OT in me coming out? Oh yeah dad you might be right we may have a lefty on our hands!

We are having her baptism this Sunday which we are very excited about. Afterwards we are having a lunch for our friends and family.

I also just wated to let you know motherhood gets better everyday. I love it when it is my day to pick up at daycare. I go in and she sees me and laughs and gets to me as fast as possible. It feels so good that even though I am away during the day she still knows who I am. I am biased but she may be the most beautiful child ever. She is really getting at a very fun age of exploration and at an age where she is gaining some undersanding. It is so exciting to watch how she figures things out. We have a light in her crib that has a switch on it so that the light only stays on a few minutes before turning off. It is handy for night time wake ups and such. However it has a cover on it. She has figured out how to open the cover and turn the light on. I got up one night to check on her becasue she was cryig and there she was on her knees at the light with it turned on. She can also turn on the sound system and her dad's x box.

Night night
Summer

Motherhood

I have discovered several things in my journey to motherhood.....

I love being a mom

I never knew I could get so attatched to Sophie so quickly

I never knew I would get so excited about a first meal of bannanas (which she hates) or a second of apples which she loves would be so much fun

I never knew how fascinating watching a child learn to crawl could be

I never knew hearing my child laugh and giggle could make me so happy

I never knew how I will sometimes hold her for many more minutes than she needs when she has fallen asleep just so I can cuddle her and soak of the sweetness of my child

I never called anyone daughter and I like saying that

Babies feet can stink really bad!!!

I never knew one child could have so many clothes (she grows out of stuff faster than she can wear it thanks to the generosity of my family and church family)

I don't care what people say I know you go through alot of wipes but it will take us a little while to get through 8000!!!!

I never knew babies grew overnight (literally)

I have witnessed my child (who must be going through a growth spurt) drink and eat her current body wieght!!!

I don't mind getting out of bed on Sat morning at 6 am if she is awake and although it is still hard to get up I ook forward to finding her in her crib smiling at me

I knew but had not experienced the time warp that takes over when you have to take a baby with you and all the stuff they require.

I never really thought about having to use the bathroom if you are by yourself and driving and you have to stop at a gas station. That I would have to lug her into the stall with me and laugh at her as she stares at me while I pee!!!!

I never knew so much trash could be generated by such small person

I did not used to warm my car up for a long enough period of time for it to actually get warm before I went somewhere before Sophie.

I never knew my husband would be this great a father (even if he does not know how to make cereal bottles). I mean I knew he had the skill for it but he even does good changing #2 diapers and before Sophie sometimes jus the smell of the trash as he was taking it out would make him gag.

I learned that I think she is adorable even when she is pitching a fit

I love my family even more as they are such a good supprot to Chris, Sophie and me.

I am so thankful for family medical leave even if I don't get paid my full check

I now understand thinking did she get enough pee on that to warrent changing the whole outfit

I never knew I would handle boogers this well

I have learned to eat one handed with a child grabbing at my food

I have learned that it is good advice to always have the clean diaper ready during changes (even for a girl)

I learned that bath time is fun

I learned that my heart melts when she looks at me and acknowleges now that hey I am that woman that takes care of her and that man with the deep voice does too.

I learned that you should alwyas turn the baby monitor off when you have company if you don't want them to hear conversations in the nursery

I am surprised that sitting on a floor all day watching a child play is not so boring after all

I hate washing bottles

I don't get to attached to any outfit I put on in the morning becasue one of several things may require a change including a code yellow, a code brown, a code snot, a code spitup and that on top of that spit stains are a great accessory to any or all of your shirts

I never knew my house was such a death trap!!!!

Why does everything we put a baby require confinment? I know the answer is safety, but they really don't like it

I still don't like to do our laundry , but I like doing her laundry

Time flies

I vaccum the living room everyday and sometimes twice a day

Overall, as I end my time to leave and I transition Sophie to daycare (which will no doubt bother me more than her) I have thought alot about how your perspective really does change with parent hood. I hate to have the day when she maybe takes her first step and I am at work. But I do have to provide things such as food and healthcare for her. So I found someone who would love her when I am working to provide what she needs.

I cannot wait to see her develop but in many ways it is sad because she is growing and changing everyday and somedays you wish you could just stop time and stay in a moment of sweet babyness forever. However I also want her to grow strong and develop and become a sweet little toddler that reaks havoc on the dogs and the house and then grow up to go to school and learn and become a little girl then a young lady then a woman.

I cannot wait to watch the flower unfold and see what hidden talents and surprises she has in store for me. She is already teaching me to be a mom and I hope I am at the high end of the learning curve.

I really do dig this motherhood thing and as far as the baby stage goes I feel I am getting better at it day by day. I really do like this job. The pay sucks, the hours are horrible, working 1,2 ,3 shift is sometimes diffuclt, it has great responsibility, but even greater rewards.

So Sophie when you read this one day know how much your mother loves and cherishes you and how much I enjoy watching you become you day by day. I love your baby stage and I look forward to the next stage.


They didn't have you where I come from. The best of life was yet to come. My life began when I saw your face. Your laughter is my serenade. How long do you want to be loved? Is forever enough? Is forever enough? How long do you want to be loved? Is forever enough? Cause I'm never ever giving you up.

Love you
Sophie
Sophie Ruth
Ruthie
Rufus (blame your dad for this one) {sorry but when you live in this house
Sophie Bear you will have a thousand nicknames}
Baby Bear

Getting Settled

Well we have been home a week and two days and life is just getting better. Sophie is still as wonderful as the day we meet and actually more so. She has had a big week. Her Grandma was here with us until Thursday, her Aunt Carrie and Uncle John came to visit and brought her some toys, and she had a full day out on Sunday meeting her great great grandmother (Granny T), her Great Uncle and Aunt Greg and Angela and her Cousins Carley and Lance, her good friend and surrogate gandmother Jackie, and then spent some time with Nana, PawPaw and the Shorts. She went on her first hay ride and got her first pumpkin.

At the pumpkin patch she had to go number two and did it all over herself so we had to do an open air cleaning and while we were changing her on a pallet made for pumpkins she discovered pine needles and covered herself in them!!

She has dicvoered her toungue and sticks it out at every possibility, she has dicovered laughter and gets her self so tickled she can hardly breath, she sat up yesterday after some help from mom and held herself up for about five minutes. She is going to be sitting up soon. This is good because she is nosey and she can position herself so she can see what is going on. I put together a string of alphabet letters yesterday for her to play with and she loves them. She sucked on them mostly but she entertained herself for a good 30 minutes with them.

It is just amazing how quickly children develope. It is so much fun wathcing her learn new things everyday. Although I love Chris very much and could not ask for a better husband and could not ask to feel more love for my husband. I could never fully imagine the love I feel for Sophie. She is so amazing and precious and I cannot wait to see the new things she learns everyday and the new things I am taught by her everday. Just seeing her smile and hearing her laugh makes the day. She truely is a gift that we have been given charge of and I only hope everyday I am doing the things that will help her be the best person she an be.

I have to go now as i is bottle time. Daddy is home with us todya but he has to run a few errands.

Love From 2874
Summer