Especially for Auntie Beth....."it's" baaaaaccckkkk

Caution! Baby on the move!

So I knew my time was short with being able to set Sophie on the mat and put a load of laundry away before she got into any trouble.
But today as we were playing before nap time...the mood suited her...the time and place were just right...and a goal was in sight...
The little one found determination deep within her soul and took off CRAWLING!!!!
I would love to say her desired goal was my Bible or my Oswald devotional...even some beautiful work of Chinese origin. No...it was...People Magazine. Not that I have any idea how or why it was in my living room in the first place!
But here it is...etched in digital memory forever...Sophie's first goal....

Pretty proud, I'd say. :)

Remember Sarah?

Yeah...we still have her. :) She's doing really good as a big sister all things considered. She's really had to take a back seat for the last 3 weeks with Sophie being so sick. While she's not been perfect, she has sure done a great job. She's understanding when Mommy can't move from exhaustion. And I told her on the day of her Valentine's party at school that I might be late because of Sophie's sick appt and she just said "ok" and was still happy to see me even though I got there 10 mins before the end of it.
You'll notice in the picture their heads are about the same size. Sarah is a bit rough with Sophie now, but I've been warning her that one day Sophie would "pat" her back....and would be able to hold her own. Sarah's not hitting her, she just doesn't do "gentle" well. But she's getting there. This picture was even Sarah's idea! She does love her little sister.
Sarah is back at pre-school without missing a beat. And she'll even have her first dance recital on 4/21. Maybe I'll learn how to post videos by then.
The weather has warmed up enough for her to play out in her sandbox and swing on her new disc swing. She loves being outside!

How big IS she??? Pt II

Well, ok. Maybe she is a big baby. :)
Sophie went for her 9 mo well-baby check-up (which we went to completely sick of course) on the 14th.
She's 21 lbs and 29 in long. That's the 90th percentile for height and weight. Compared to our peanut Sarah, she's a coconut!!
I'm big on milestones too. You know, those developmental ones? I could possibly be an over-achiever. :) And I don't cut much slack for time spent in Camp China either. heehee Ok, I actually do cut slack for that...but not much. :)
Anyway...she hadn't clapped yet. Yes. That's a milestone. AGH! Since she was so sick I didn't really waste much time dwelling on it...but tonight folks....SHE CLAPPED!!!! Yahoo!! On target!!! I wonder if it would seem a bit weird if, when we go to have her TB test read on Monday, I asked Wanda (that's our nurse) to be sure to tell the doc that she clapped. And could they add that to her file pretty please. :) No child left behind. That's what I say.
She didn't get to have any vaccinations, but we did get to try to draw blood for an hour and a half. No, that was not time spent waiting...unless you count the time they said "let's let the circulation come back" or "let her calm down and then we'll get so and so to try". It was not a pretty day folks. And, omd!, do you know what she said to me?? "The chubby ones are always the hardest." **GASP** So, I guess it's official...she is a big baby.

What a good little patient....

We've been absent a few days. Most of you have heard that Sophie has been sick again. I suspect it was just the return of what she had in China since we didn't get to finish our meds there...thanks to the great escape and all. :)
Anyway. She's had to have nebulizer treatments, steriods, antibiotics (for an added ear infection), nose sprays...the works. But for 2 nights it's gone pretty good. :)
I just had to share pictures of her getting her nebulizer treatments. At first, at just seeing the mask, she wants nothing to do with it. But turn that bad boy on and she warms right up to it! She'll just sit there and hold the mask for 15 mins. She's so cute. See fig. A.
Fig A:




Then things get a little weird....

See...the machine is off, but she's still hangin' in there. :)

And finally, the medicine kicks in and all is right in Sophieland.

How big IS she???

Not a question I had much with our little peanut, Sarah. But it comes up a bit with Sophie. :)
For perspective, see photo above. That's our bathroom sink. Well, yeah, her tummy fills it mostly, but she does still fit in it. :)
She'll have her official weight done on Wednesday, but unofficially, she's 18 lbs. Oddly enough she's the same size and length as Sarah was when we brought her home at 14 months. teehee. I got a younger one, but not really a smaller one. :)
We are almost feeling normal again. Sarah is getting to where she understands that the quieter she is when Sophie is asleep the more one on one time she gets. :) Not exactly the selfless love I'm wanting to cultivate, but we're all taking baby steps at this point.
We've heard that Daphne, our guide/angel, has gotten all her utilities back. They still don't have heat, because no one has heat in their houses in Hunan really....it only gets cold once every 80-100 years after all. :) But they are doing well.
I can almost see my living room floor again. The kitchen is a different story.
Sophie is mostly happy...unless I disappear. *sigh* And you'll all be glad to hear that her little tongue still pops out when she's hungry. :)
Well...I'm being summoned by the ruler of the house.....

Like Truvey says, "there is no such thing as natural beauty"...

Hair. Sometimes you can't live with it and you'd rather not live without it. Poor Sophie. She's got...."problem hair". :) Most women would never think of lathering up the hair with lotion. But that's what we did here. Thinking it would weigh it down...no. It dried like this. :) Makes for great pictures but the poor kid has eternal morning hair. Not that it's not the cutest head of morning hair you ever did touch, but still....
We're starting to feel human again...until about 3pm. Then all the girls are in my bed snoring away. And waking us up ain't pretty. Ask Glen. Most days I sit in bed (the 3 mins before I fall asleep) and wonder if Sarah and I ate lunch. Probably. But I don't have any memory of it. I'm tired. :) Thank goodness Sophie is only on a bottle right now.
Thank you everyone that has sent gifts. I know it's proper to send thank you cards, but I'm just going to be very real here....as thankful as I am I can't muster the energy up to find the cards or stamps.
Sarah is doing great...probably the best of all of us. She's back at school and is exhausted when she comes home, but still has a pretty good attitude. She is eating again, thank God. I think we can get her back up to her mighty 30 lbs pretty soon. She is dying for some friends to come play in her sandbox. Between you and me, I think she's od'd on family time. :)
I'll try to get lots of pictures out soon.