All I can say is...it was only 2 months ago that we had to help her sit up.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Easter and beyond....
Sorry...I've been, ummm, exhausted. This horrid neon green haze, otherwise known as pollen, has been taking my family out one by one. Sophie, it appears, is a "seasonal allergy sufferer". :) Thick, icky goo pours out of nearly every orifice on her head. O.K., O.K., I exaggerate. But I can say with certainty that buying stock in the company that makes Puffs with Lotion might pay off for you.
As it turns out, Sophie is way more articulate than I've given her credit for. While I'm praising her saying "Yes!!! Sweetie!! Those ARE your ears!!!" (For the record, we have been working on "where are your ears?", lest you think I'm a total Britney-mom) She was actually saying "Hey Mommy-O...any idea why it sounds like I'm underwater? Or why I feel like my head is going to BURST??!!! Mom!!! Hello!!! THESE TWO EARS RIGHT HERE!!! Can we get them checked please?" Well, yeah, she was banging away on them, but she was laughing at the same time! So once she saw being a happy patient wouldn't get her the help she needed, she cried her head off for 2 hours and I realized right away something was amiss. :)
Diagnosis? A, and I quote, "raging double ear infection with lots of pressure...and a new tooth on it's way through...plenty to be ticked off about."
Goodness, I'm wordy. Most people would have just said "Sophie has an ear infection." Eh, but why tune into a blog that just says that right?
Anywho...Easter. It was pretty special. Especially with Sarah. This past Christmas and Easter were the first holidays we've "allowed" Santa and the Easter Bunny to come to our house. Not that Sarah ever knew we didn't allow them, but we finally gave in to the wonder of it all I guess you could say. The night before Easter morning Sarah crawled into bed with me and we started chatting about why the Easter Bunny was so excited about Easter and that led to us talking about one of my favorite Easter songs. "He's Alive" by Dolly Parton. Sarah has seen my absolute delight when the chorus rings out "He's alive! Yes, He's alive! He's alive and I'm forgiven, Heaven's gates are open wide!" for 3 yrs...she's seen it with this song. She asked about crucifixion, what a tomb is, what sin is, what it would feel like when it was time to ask Jesus to be her personal savior (she said "no. I don't think it's time yet.") and what Heaven would be like. We got onto the passage about His mansion in Heaven and the many many rooms...she wanted to know what he was going to have in her room that he needed to work on it her whole life. I told her "probably pictures of every special moment in your life, so you'll never forget all the ways he blessed you." That satisfied her.
The next morning we woke up and wished each other a happy resurrection day and I said "go see if the Easter bunny came". He did. She was pretty excited that he knew to bring the Maraposa Barbie for our celebration. And I asked her if she remembered why the E.b was so excited and she said "because He's alive..Jesus is alive". She paused and said "can I go see if He came?". I had no idea what she meant. "Jesus?" I asked. "yes, can I go see?". Ummm....panic hit me that somehow her faith was going to forever be squashed because what ever she was expecting wasn't going to be there. I said "ok, but remember, no one can see Jesus." And she ran off to her room. She returned in a few moments. "He didn't hang any pictures Mama." Whew!!!! Then I explained that "that" room is in Heaven. Which apparently I didn't do a good job of explaining...but sort of pleased that she thought she lived in the great mansion that God built. :)
Later, we loaded up and went to church. Sophie LOVED the music. She sat up straight and tall in her stroller and looked and let out her version of "amen" at all the appropriate moments and even tried to sing along in her own way. And I sat there staring at her and holding on to Sarah so thankful that they can worship Him without fear of persecution. So thankful that He told my heart 23 years ago that my daughters were in China. So thankful that He made a way for that to be true. And hopeful that maybe He'll make a way for Abby to come home too.
The day before Easter was the church Easter egg hunt. Sarah loves her church. And her church loves her. But this year she really loved the party!
Last year she wouldn't have much to do with the "Easter Bunny", but this year....
But Sophie....not so much on the excited end of things....
Nor did she think too much of that big, pink, scary "thing"....
And though Sophie's expression would never imply it...she adores her big sister. But let's face it...Sarah only has 8 lbs on Sophie, Sophie might be afraid she'll break big sister. :)
Sarah isn't afraid of any ole blue chick either...
Well, that's Easter...I better put "beyond" in a separate post. :)
As it turns out, Sophie is way more articulate than I've given her credit for. While I'm praising her saying "Yes!!! Sweetie!! Those ARE your ears!!!" (For the record, we have been working on "where are your ears?", lest you think I'm a total Britney-mom) She was actually saying "Hey Mommy-O...any idea why it sounds like I'm underwater? Or why I feel like my head is going to BURST??!!! Mom!!! Hello!!! THESE TWO EARS RIGHT HERE!!! Can we get them checked please?" Well, yeah, she was banging away on them, but she was laughing at the same time! So once she saw being a happy patient wouldn't get her the help she needed, she cried her head off for 2 hours and I realized right away something was amiss. :)
Diagnosis? A, and I quote, "raging double ear infection with lots of pressure...and a new tooth on it's way through...plenty to be ticked off about."
Goodness, I'm wordy. Most people would have just said "Sophie has an ear infection." Eh, but why tune into a blog that just says that right?
Anywho...Easter. It was pretty special. Especially with Sarah. This past Christmas and Easter were the first holidays we've "allowed" Santa and the Easter Bunny to come to our house. Not that Sarah ever knew we didn't allow them, but we finally gave in to the wonder of it all I guess you could say. The night before Easter morning Sarah crawled into bed with me and we started chatting about why the Easter Bunny was so excited about Easter and that led to us talking about one of my favorite Easter songs. "He's Alive" by Dolly Parton. Sarah has seen my absolute delight when the chorus rings out "He's alive! Yes, He's alive! He's alive and I'm forgiven, Heaven's gates are open wide!" for 3 yrs...she's seen it with this song. She asked about crucifixion, what a tomb is, what sin is, what it would feel like when it was time to ask Jesus to be her personal savior (she said "no. I don't think it's time yet.") and what Heaven would be like. We got onto the passage about His mansion in Heaven and the many many rooms...she wanted to know what he was going to have in her room that he needed to work on it her whole life. I told her "probably pictures of every special moment in your life, so you'll never forget all the ways he blessed you." That satisfied her.
The next morning we woke up and wished each other a happy resurrection day and I said "go see if the Easter bunny came". He did. She was pretty excited that he knew to bring the Maraposa Barbie for our celebration. And I asked her if she remembered why the E.b was so excited and she said "because He's alive..Jesus is alive". She paused and said "can I go see if He came?". I had no idea what she meant. "Jesus?" I asked. "yes, can I go see?". Ummm....panic hit me that somehow her faith was going to forever be squashed because what ever she was expecting wasn't going to be there. I said "ok, but remember, no one can see Jesus." And she ran off to her room. She returned in a few moments. "He didn't hang any pictures Mama." Whew!!!! Then I explained that "that" room is in Heaven. Which apparently I didn't do a good job of explaining...but sort of pleased that she thought she lived in the great mansion that God built. :)
Later, we loaded up and went to church. Sophie LOVED the music. She sat up straight and tall in her stroller and looked and let out her version of "amen" at all the appropriate moments and even tried to sing along in her own way. And I sat there staring at her and holding on to Sarah so thankful that they can worship Him without fear of persecution. So thankful that He told my heart 23 years ago that my daughters were in China. So thankful that He made a way for that to be true. And hopeful that maybe He'll make a way for Abby to come home too.
The day before Easter was the church Easter egg hunt. Sarah loves her church. And her church loves her. But this year she really loved the party!
Last year she wouldn't have much to do with the "Easter Bunny", but this year....
But Sophie....not so much on the excited end of things....
Nor did she think too much of that big, pink, scary "thing"....
And though Sophie's expression would never imply it...she adores her big sister. But let's face it...Sarah only has 8 lbs on Sophie, Sophie might be afraid she'll break big sister. :)
Sarah isn't afraid of any ole blue chick either...
Well, that's Easter...I better put "beyond" in a separate post. :)
Monday, March 24, 2008
2 months later....
Sophie has been with us for just over 2 months now. What's changed???
3 teeth have arrived...and more coming right behind.
She learned to roll over, sit up, crawl, pull up, and finally today...she learned to stand up and clap for herself.
Her hair is getting thicker and less "problematic".
She giggles when Mama or Dada walk into the room.
She's gone from baths in a baby tub to a sitting ring in the regular tub to just sitting in the tub. Unfortunately, she thinks she's a fish and tends to just dip her face in the water all of a sudden. :)
I'm learning that she's a "carb girl" and that her sister isn't just a good eater, she's the best. I have no idea what Sophie will eat...if she's eating enough (compared to Sarah's portions she should be starving to death)...or what to make for her next meal. She is pretty offended by baby food of any variety...and is currently living on formula, wheat bread, and bananas. Meanwhile, I can put some egg plant down in front of Sarah and she'll eat it with no questions asked. She's amazing!!!
I've learned she loves music and will almost always try to sing along...ask anyone that was sitting near us at Easter Service.
She's changing so fast...
The Chinese will often scold you for having a baby older than 3 months or so in a onsie-type outfit. They say it will prevent them from growing. So if you suddenly start seeing Sophie in one piece outfits regularly....you'll know what my motive is. :)
Easter pictures coming soon.
3 teeth have arrived...and more coming right behind.
She learned to roll over, sit up, crawl, pull up, and finally today...she learned to stand up and clap for herself.
Her hair is getting thicker and less "problematic".
She giggles when Mama or Dada walk into the room.
She's gone from baths in a baby tub to a sitting ring in the regular tub to just sitting in the tub. Unfortunately, she thinks she's a fish and tends to just dip her face in the water all of a sudden. :)
I'm learning that she's a "carb girl" and that her sister isn't just a good eater, she's the best. I have no idea what Sophie will eat...if she's eating enough (compared to Sarah's portions she should be starving to death)...or what to make for her next meal. She is pretty offended by baby food of any variety...and is currently living on formula, wheat bread, and bananas. Meanwhile, I can put some egg plant down in front of Sarah and she'll eat it with no questions asked. She's amazing!!!
I've learned she loves music and will almost always try to sing along...ask anyone that was sitting near us at Easter Service.
She's changing so fast...
The Chinese will often scold you for having a baby older than 3 months or so in a onsie-type outfit. They say it will prevent them from growing. So if you suddenly start seeing Sophie in one piece outfits regularly....you'll know what my motive is. :)
Easter pictures coming soon.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
It had to be done....I just couldn't wait....
I had to try pigtails. Everyone knows it was probably killing me not to be able to do something with her hair!! :) So, while we were home alone this morning....I got to work.She was a pretty good client. As long as she had a comb to naw on she sat still. This is just the beginning Sophie...just ask Sarah.
She looks like she might be crying. It was because it was taking so long to get a good picture. The girl wiggles.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Is this gate really necessary Mommy?
Ummmmm....yes. This gate is indeed necessary. Along with one on every doorway. :) I've pretty much gotten the living room under control...Sophie-proof. Or at least it's not a death trap. Although she did discover the shelf of tea cups that, quite frankly, I had forgotten all about 3 years ago. I managed to save her from banging them together or eating the petals in one of them. Yeah, petals. Pre-kids I thought that was so romantic to have petals from my wedding bouquet. They were thrown away today. Now, my idea of romantic is keeping the girls and me alive for one more day. :) Ok, ok, "alive" might be extreme.... sane. Yeah, sane. And any day that I can avoid calling a doctor or poison control seems like a success. I've realized that the second child's job is to point out all the things you thought you were good at with the first and show that the first child just missed those things.Sophie was pulling up the other day on a cabinet and to her surprise....IT OPENED!!! She looked at me, I looked at her....and she thought "what???!!! there is a world behind these shiny knobs that I didn't even know existed???!!!".... I'm bracing myself for when she discovers we have a lot of them! Don't worry... death or injury doesn't lurk behind all of them. Just chaos.
Sophie is also my diligent student. :) She wakes up at 2 am and studies her vocabulary words for the day. Mama, dada, baba, *blow raspberries*, practice laugh....repeat. She's quite a character.
Sarah is my natural student. We finally did some school work after taking 4 months off and she picked right up where we left off. Math is her favorite because we are counting money. It's finally sinking in that a dime is worth 10 whole pennies....she had no idea!!! And then wanted to know how many dimes it would take for that new Barbie Maraposa doll and DVD. "A whole lot of dimes I'm afraid", I told her. "oh, ok." she said. I guess she's going to find something cheaper to like. :)
Well, Sophie is about to wake up. She still takes her afternoon nap in my bed so I have to go make sure she holds off on her gymnastic lessons for a few more years.
ta-ta
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
It's 2:46pm, here's my world....
Every day I seem to get a glimmer of a new normal (I refuse to accept that I am in my new normal yet...but close)....here's what is happening right now.
Sarah is sound asleep. The girl could skip most naps pre-Sophie, but not since. She wakes at the break of day (6am or earlier) to come in my room to see if Sophie is asleep beside me. And if she is, I have to make room for one more. It's really a null issue because Sophie wakes up upon movement and so my day begins. So anyway, Sarah is sleeping and "re-booting" her chatterbox so she won't miss a syllable when she wakes. :)
Sophie is mostly content in her Pack and Play next to me. Have I mentioned that she has cut 2 teeth!??!!! Her two bottom teeth made their appearance last week. Judging by their arrival and the pain and aggravation associated with it...I'm not looking forward to the next 10 or whatever are on their way. (See, I don't even waste my precious quiet time finding out exactly how many of something are coming...I estimate because my time is fleeting! ) We are both glad to have cleared this round though...bananas are sooooo much easier with a tooth or two!
Oh and my clothes dryer died. I will say it lived a mighty long life and I can't say I'm sorry to see the energy hog go, but the replacement is hurting the ole pocketbook. I mean, when you don't have to replace something for 20 years or so...inflation really stinks. Thank goodness inflation isn't nearly as hard on cell phones because I have a thing for those. I just do. I like to stay current on that technology for some odd reason. Why am I telling you this? I guess I'm not used to having so much time to think. :)
Don't be looking for pics of the new teeth. Sophie has been keeping the paparazzi at bay...doesn't want to appear too proud of them or something. Really though, I think she's just more proud of that tongue, because every time I try to look at the teeth the tongue pops out. :)
Sarah is sound asleep. The girl could skip most naps pre-Sophie, but not since. She wakes at the break of day (6am or earlier) to come in my room to see if Sophie is asleep beside me. And if she is, I have to make room for one more. It's really a null issue because Sophie wakes up upon movement and so my day begins. So anyway, Sarah is sleeping and "re-booting" her chatterbox so she won't miss a syllable when she wakes. :)
Sophie is mostly content in her Pack and Play next to me. Have I mentioned that she has cut 2 teeth!??!!! Her two bottom teeth made their appearance last week. Judging by their arrival and the pain and aggravation associated with it...I'm not looking forward to the next 10 or whatever are on their way. (See, I don't even waste my precious quiet time finding out exactly how many of something are coming...I estimate because my time is fleeting! ) We are both glad to have cleared this round though...bananas are sooooo much easier with a tooth or two!
Oh and my clothes dryer died. I will say it lived a mighty long life and I can't say I'm sorry to see the energy hog go, but the replacement is hurting the ole pocketbook. I mean, when you don't have to replace something for 20 years or so...inflation really stinks. Thank goodness inflation isn't nearly as hard on cell phones because I have a thing for those. I just do. I like to stay current on that technology for some odd reason. Why am I telling you this? I guess I'm not used to having so much time to think. :)
Don't be looking for pics of the new teeth. Sophie has been keeping the paparazzi at bay...doesn't want to appear too proud of them or something. Really though, I think she's just more proud of that tongue, because every time I try to look at the teeth the tongue pops out. :)
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