Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas as a family, full of fun, laughter, and eating! We sang, "Happy Birthday Jesus" with Sophi and told her the Christmas story.
Among the highlights:
-I'm thrilled about my new digital scrapbook program. It's easy and will save me time and money.
- Deric and I received some nice kitchen gadgets. New pans and knives. I'm ready to cook some new recipes.
-Sophi enjoyed eating paper and bows. She also enjoyed her new gifts. One of her highlights, a little stuffed kitty. She gets so happy when she is playing with it. The kitty accompanies her new farm quite nicely.
Now to clean the clutter, put away the Christmas decorations, and jump into the New Year!! :)

My sick Snuggle Bunny :(

As I write this, I can hear my sweet girl snoring. Snoring because her poor nose is so clogged. :(
Not only does Sophi have a runny nose, she has a cough and 4 teeth coming in. She is super clingy and only wants to be held. Sophi has been spending the past 2 days, playing for 5 min. then returning to me to be held.
It's her first Christmas!!!!! Why is she sick???? :(

So a non-clingy baby becomes sick and now is clingy. I should be careful what I wish for!! :)

On a lighter note, Sophi this past week has decided to protest baby food. Her foods for choice include: bread, oranges, chicken, turkey, and fish. (Yes fish! She gobbled it right up!!) She's not too sure about her veggies as finger foods, but we'll keep trying!!

Top 10 Things I Love About the Holidays

I'm back!! Well, sort of... I'll keep posting on our Shutterfly website etc. But I've been wanting to type more on Blogspot as well. So now I have two sites. :)

Top 10 Things I Love About the Holidays: ( I tried to narrow it down)
10. My 1983 Amy Grant Christmas Album
9. Displaying my Grinch collection. (From pens to ornaments, glasses to hats. Sophi even has a Grinch t-shirt)
8. Baking sugar cookies with my mom.
7. Freezing the sugar cookies and enjoying them well into the new year.
6. All the stores are decorated.. stores have great deals!!
5. Cheesy Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel and the Lifetime Channel.
4. Peppermint flavored anything! Peppermint mochas, icecream, cookies. YUM! YUM! YUM!
3. Watching Deric put over 1500 lights on our Christmas tree.
2. Being with my family doing all the traditions- going to see Christmas lights, baking, wrapping gifts, singing Christmas carols, eating stew and homemade biscuits on Christmas Eve, watching White Christmas on Christmas Eve, watching Sophi open gifts. Furthermore, excited to start new traditions with Sophi. I gave her my Nativity scene I had when I was a kid. I also like reading her some Christmas books. :) (Max Lucado ones truly warm my heart. :) )
I can't wait to till she understands what the Nativity scene is and why we celebrate Christmas.


NUMBER 1............

DRUM ROLL..............

1. Watching Sophi stare at the tree in awe of all the lights! :) Seriously so cute, it's priceless.


What are your top 10??

Out with the old, in with the new!

I'm trying to find an easier way to keep all my family and friends updated. So I am changing from Blogspot to Shutterfly. I will miss my cute backgrounds, but this new site makes uploading pictures easier and quicker.

Our new family site is:
dericandjessicamiller.shutterfly.com

We're back from vacation! Sophi is 4 months old!

My grandparent's farm

Happy 4th of July!

Great-Grandma Bohlen

Great-Great Grandma Alice

Great-Grandma Kennedy

4th Cousin Nolan

Chilling on the airplane

Loving going places!

So we have made it home and tired after our 2 week vacation to Nebraska. It was really fun and really long. Here's some of the things we did:
-Sophi went on her first airplane ride. She really enjoyed the ride there. She took a nap and spend some time smiling and eating.
-Sophi was a trouper. We had to drive 2 1/2hrs. to my Grandparent's farm. She was happy the entire way. She did really well being taken from house to house.
-We spent time with a lot of family. Sophi met her Great-Great Grandma Alice, all of the relatives on my mom and dad's side, and her new 4th cousin, Nolan.
-Sophi did not like the fireworks. My uncle Barry bought some fireworks from the "black market" so Daddy enjoyed giving the family a huge firework show. I enjoyed the sound of the fireworks from inside the house. :)
-I lit my first firework on July 5th. Deric, Uncle Justin, and Uncle Josh (my brothers), gave an after-show presentation. Sophi was sleeping so I enjoyed that show!
-We all got our pictures taken by my friend Allison. I'm so excited to see them!!
-I gained 5 pounds on our vacation!! We ate and ate a TON of sweets and ate a lot at our favorite burger place- Runza. I think I ate 2 or more cookies a day from the little cookie place Eileen's. Of course I brought some home!! BEST COOKIES EVER!
-We took Deric on a tour of Nebraska. He got to see one of the houses I lived in before we moved to AZ.
-I became addicted to Sudoku. Could never finish the challenging puzzles without help, but liked playing anyways.
-We celebrated my Grandma Kennedy's 70th birthday. There was a huge party with a d.j. I saw a lot of relatives I hadn't seen since I was a baby. My Grandpa's brothers were there. They look so much like my Grandpa. It made me miss him so much. I really wish I could have known him more. We also took a big family picture, but can you believe this, someone stole the photographer's camera?? So all of our nice shots, gone!
-Deric had to leave 1 week before Sophi and I. Once he left she did not sleep through the night. I was up 2-3times with her each night. *Just a little side note, Deric came home last night. Sophi slept through the night. Who says babies don't know when something is different?*
-We went to the Omaha Zoo. It was really humid, but it felt good to walk around after gaining 5 pounds!! I know Sophi will really like this zoo when she is older. The Phoenix Zoo is boring compared to this place!
-Sophi DID NOT like the plane ride home. She fell asleep right when we boarded and woke up screaming after about an hour. I took her to my parents and thankfully my dad could calm her down. Her ears were hurting so bad and it was so loud! She wouldn't eat and my dad had to bounce her on his leg and hold her ears for little over an hour. Poor Dad's leg! Thanks Dad!! I'm SO glad they were on the plane w/ me.

I'm sure there's somethings I missed, but overall it was a great trip. I really miss having family around, so it was good to spend quality time with them.
It's SO GOOD to be home.

Sophi also is 4 months old!!
She weighs 14lbs. She is 24 3/4in long.
Sophi loves licking her hands, cooing, and eating her keys. She has often tried to eat mine and Deric's a couple times. :) She had her first laugh a couple weeks ago! It is the greatest sound!
She continues to roll over while sleeping and gets very mad. So we are having to give her tons more tummy time so she won't cry when she rolls over.
She is wonderful!

Baby shopping

My friend Lauren took me to a couple discount kid stores yesterday.
Here they are:

1. Puddleduds- AWESOME little store in Scottsdale. They have name brand items for $4/$5 dollars. Some things were close to $10, but once Sophi needs clothes, I'm going back! Can't beat getting a sweater for $4!! I got Sophi a How the Grinch Stole Christmas long-sleeve shirt for $6! It's super considering how much I love the Grinch. :)

2. Kid to Kid- This place wasn't as cheap, but they take your old items and give you cash. They have clothes, toys, books. Pretty neat if you can trade old items for new.

Baby shopping always puts me in a good mood!! It made me think, why is it that once you are a mom you shop more for your baby than yourself?

Father's day video

Check out my video I made for my Pa for Father's Day! Deric taught me how to use his video program and I created it all by myself. I think our family has some great skills! :)
Some of the words get cut off b/c I made it in widescreen format. Hopefully you'll be able to figure out the missing words okay.

Father's day and Sophi's first swim

Happy Father's Day!

Deric had a great first Father's Day!! We both got a little cat nap after church and went over to my parent's house. Sophi got to go in the pool for the first time. The water was a little chilly, so it was hard for her to relax. I think she also thought, "WHAT IS THIS?" When she is scared, she tenses up and holds up her arms. The entire 30 min. we were in there, she was tense. She only cried towards the end when she was done. Sophi really liked (well, we think) when Daddy made motorboat noises and when he moved her around. We're excited to try swimming with Sophi again!

Ready to hit the pool!

Sophi and the motorboat :)
Daddy needing a tan.

Sophi all tense.. not sure what is going on!

Job possibility

So I have a job interview tomorrow!! I'm hoping it works out. It's at North Phoenix Baptist Church through their preschool.
We will see!! Keep me in your prayers. :)

B/c I'm bored..

Each month I've been taking pictures of Sophi and her bird. I'm totally bored right now so I decided to post the pictures for all to see her growth!

3 days old

2 weeks old

1 month

2 months

3 months

JOY

It's amazing what God can do to your heart once you are honest with yourself and decide that life is good.
I've found myself several times this week really having the joy of the Lord. When I step back to think of everything I'm truly blessed to have, all of life's hard "things" disappear.

Psalm 126:3
The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.

Job 8:21
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.


Psalm 28:7
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

Psalm 94:19
When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.

I just love her so much!!

Sophi made her first trip to the mall today.She did great!! We met my friend Diane and her son Jordan. Sophi loved watching all the kids play. I got to enjoy my Starbucks and chat. It was a fabulous morning!!

Vacation

Today I got super excited to go on vacation!! We're going to Nebraska for almost 2 weeks to visit my family. ALL of my relatives live in the small farm town of Hastings, Ne. We will get to be there during July 4th, which Deric is excited for! YEAH for buying fireworks!
Sophi will get to go on her first plane ride, which makes me a bit nervous. But I'm sure she'll do great!
While we are in Nebraska we will be able to see our best friends Jan and Neil who moved to Omaha last October. We also are going to get our family pictures down by my lifetime friend Allison. She is an AWESOME photographer! She also will be taking a few solo shots of Sophi. I'm still trying to figure out our wardrobes, mostly for me, but I still have a couple weeks to check out the stores for a cute top.
We also get to take a HUGE family picture with all the cousins, etc. My great-grandma is still alive, so we get to take a 5 generation picture. I think that is SO neat that Sophi has a great-great grandma. :)
My Grandma Kennedy is also celebrating her 70th Birthday, so we get to have a big party honoring her. It will be very busy, but I'm really excited to show Deric where I lived and for him to see my grandparent's farm.
Deric has to return to Arizona early to squeeze in some work before Jr. High camp, so that means Sophi and I will be away from him for 9 days!! That is the longest we've ever been apart. Thankfully, my parents/siblings will be in Neb. too AND we have the same flight home. There will be plenty of people to love on Sophi.
I know it will be a great vacation. I'm a little nervous about the humidity and those dreaded mosquitoes. It will be great to see family and friends. I can't wait!!

YEAH FOR VACATION!!

Happy 3 month Birthday Sophi!

Our baby is 3 months old today!
Here are some things about Sophi at 3 months:
*Sophi is rolling over (she is sneaky and does it when I'm not looking!)
*Sophi loves music, especially dance music.
*Sophi loves t.v. shows, especially those with music. She enjoys Barney so far.
*She falls asleep on her own. We have a "bedtime" routine and we lay her down. However, she has a hard time falling asleep on her own at bedtime. She prefers Daddy's bouncing then.
*She continues to enjoy watching fans, mobiles, and any dangling objects.
*She likes reading books. Her favorite characters include: Ernie and Elmo.
*Sophi can grasp and hold objects if you place them in her hands. She recently has tried reaching for objects on her own.
*She is talking more and more. Smiling more and more. She often smiles for the camera. (or Daddy just gets her at the right time :) ).
*She likes going on walks and flying like Super Woman.
*Her top favorite things would be: 1. getting her diaper changed. 2. eating. 3. sucking on her hands.

Contentment

I haven't really cared too much about reading my Bible. I don't know what it is. I've never really had this "problem" before. Its weird, I've been having a lot of questions about God lately. I'm having a hard time understanding his purposes. Some things I know I probably will never receive answers to, but I'm still struggling with that. The irony is, the one place that could probably give me some peace I don't want to seek.
See I've been a Christian since I was 5. People used to tease me for knowing too much about the Bible. I can quote verse after verse. Since I was in junior high, I started daily quiet time. Once I left college, I really had to try hard to continue my relationship with God. I think going to a Christian college was a blessing, but somewhere inside I think I turned the Bible into a textbook. My faith has always been just that, faith. I never questioned reasons "why", never was angry at God, just always trusted that He knew what He was doing and down the road I may come to understand.
Ever since my miscarriage last year, the questions have been a flooding. My biggest question (which has many parts) is "Why does God open doors in my life, but doesn't allow me to walk through them? Why does He open the door for a sneak peak and then close that door?" As awful as this sounds, I sometimes see God opening the door saying, "See this. See what you could have. HAHA! You are NOT going to get it!" Now I know, I KNOW, God does not do this.
I frankly am tired of the "God has a purpose" response from everyone. That answer doesn't really answer my questions. It doesn't make you feel better. It doesn't make life any easier and it doesn't pay my bills.
Like I said in a past post, I'm a work in progress. I spend time thinking a lot. My love for God is lukewarm. Just admitting that makes me want to throw up, since I know God does not like lukewarm people. But it's the truth.
This all being said, I decided to pick up my devotional book for Mom's today. I just turned to a page and started reading. It is titled: Contentment. This sort devotion doesn't really answer my questions, but challenged me to find contentment and to be more thankful instead of thinking "poor,poor me." Contentment is something that goes against society. I enjoy going out and shopping, it actually makes me feel better. So being content with what I have now, is really difficult. Anways..

Here's the devotion:
"If we could just buy a bigger house, I'd be happy." "I wish my husband would get a better paying job." "I wish I had some time to myself." "If I could lose some weight, had better hair, were prettier...."
You may be unaware of how many times during the day you express your lack of contentment. The apostle Paul wrote, "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation."
The secret of contentment lies not focusing upon what you lack, but in concentrating deeply upon those things of value which you have been entrusted. For instance, when you learn to value the people in your life appropriately, material things diminish in importance and you find contentment in your relationships. When you learn to cherish truth and spiritual growth, temporal things pale in comparison and you experience great joy. When you learn to value integrity, nurture humility, love unconditionally, and become more invested in the happiness of others than in yourself, the pettiness of dissatisfaction melts away and the result is abundant life.
Contentment is contagious. It is one of those elusive traits that children learn more effectively by example than any other way. So the question is, have you learned the secret of being content? If not, you can begin changing today. The result is you will be more happier and your children more at peace.
Verse:
"Godliness with contentment is great gain. If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that." 1 Timothy 6:6,8

I can't promise I will wake up tomorrow totally content. (Maybe if all my bills were paid I would.. just kidding). I know I am going to try hard this week at being content and working on my relationships with people. I know some day Sophi will really follow everything I'm doing and saying, so I need to work on some things before that. No pressure, right?

Being a Mom is hard

Today's brunch inspired me to get real. Being a Mom is hard. There are so many things great about being a Mom. But recently I've found out it is SO easy to loose your identity. I'm known as Deric's wife. I'm known as Sophi's mom. What about before that? I was very hard working, eager to learn, fun, goofy, and most importantly- my relationship with God was very close.
I don't know how it happened..somewhere between pregnancy, birth, and current life I've been forgetting who I was. It has been so easy to only read baby books, listen to baby music, talk about baby things. I want to sleep instead of talk or read my Bible. I want to cry instead of taking a shower. I want to eat instead of working out. And, yes, it's difficult to admit, I want to leave the house instead of spending "time" with my husband.
I've been really working hard this week not to be such a Debbie Downer. I've done some deep cleaning that I've been making excuses about no doing. I've worked hard at being HAPPY and full of joy when Deric comes home. But still some things are really difficult. I keep thinking, "if only my face would stop breaking out and I could wear my size 6 clothes again and my hair was dyed and my skin was tan, everything would be okay."
I don't really have anything encouraging, just to say I'm a work in progress. I'm trying to find me again while being Sophi's mom and Deric's wife. Those things I wouldn't trade for anything. :)

Getting old

Sometimes I wish I could stop time. I don't mind growing up, I just want others around me to stop growing. It's weird to think that my baby sister is out of high school. It's weird to think my baby brother Josh is going into high school. It's even harder for me to see that Sophi IS getting bigger.
It started Monday night when I was looking at her newborn picture on her wall. She was SO tiny with red skin, TONS of hair, and very very skinny fingers and toes. That led me to look at other newborn pictures of her. I started thinking, "I don't even remember what she first looked like!" (Which is sort of not true.. I tend to look at pictures of her ALL the time!) I was in awe of how fast she has changed.
ANYWAYS...
In Sophi's room we have an extra dresser in her closet. Before she was born I filled a drawer with clothes 3-6month. Other drawers are also filled with clothes that are bigger. Well I've been noticing that her socks were beginning to look to tight, so I decided to pull some bigger ones out. That led me to look at the outfits in the 3-6month drawer. I realized that she could wear those!! It led me to tears as I dressed Sophi in an outfit marked 3months. I cried my way through all her newborn outfits and realized, maybe they are too small. I saved a couple of my favorite ones to try to squeeze her in one last time.
I finally was okay with the cute outfit she was wearing when she decided to roll over back to belly!! That led to more tears..from both of us!! (Sophi HATES being on her belly!)
The rest of the day was filled with laughter and smiles as I enjoyed Sophi talking and playing with me. Until.....
Until I tried to put on her pjs for bed!! These pjs are my FAVORITE! They are yellow with giraffes on them. These pjs were the very first pjs we put her in when she came home from the hospital. These pjs are now WAY TOO SMALL!! As you can guess the tears came a rolling. Deric jokingly told Sophi to stop growing because she's making Mommy cry. Secretly I wished it was true. I wish I could not just stop time, but rewind time. Even though those first few weeks of being a new mom are difficult, I miss them. Sophi has grown so fast, it makes me want to see her small all over again. (I know what you are thinking, "Jess, she's only 3 months old!! She's still small!") But before I know it, she'll be crawling, walking, driving, getting married and having babies!!
Well I guess I should start taking pictures today! I can't forget what she looked like at 12 weeks!! :)

I've attached a picture of Sophi in her giraffe pjs. She was 3 days old. :) The next picture is what she looks like now at 12 weeks.

A visit from some friends

We had some friends visit from New Mexico this weekend. Stephanie came down and brought her 3 cute kids: Gabrielle, Lyla, and Gideon. The girls enjoyed running around our house and playing with all of Sophi's toys. I was so glad they came for a visit! Too bad they don't live closer. :(

Sophi doing the Cha Cha slide

Sophi loved doing the Cha-cha slide at Samantha and Justin's Wedding. She was so excited she spit up twice!

Sophi is 2 months!

I can't believe how quickly time has gone. Sophi is changing everyday and we are so thankful for her! Here are some things about Sophi now that she is 2 months old:
*She weighs 10lbs 14oz (50% percentile)
*She's 23.5in long (87% percentile)
*She smiles A LOT!
*She sleeps at least 7 hours at night, then eats around 7, and goes back to sleep till about 10.
*She still eats every 2-3hrs.
*We are still trying to get her to take a bottle. She seems to forget how to suck once it's in her mouth. Deric has been great and has a ton of patience!
*Sophi LOVES LOVES LOVES to get her diaper changed. She goes crazy, kicking and smiling once she's put on the changing table. It's so funny!
*Sophi hates tummy time. She's doing well at occasionally picking up her head, but she'll do it once and then cry.
*Sophi continues to like car rides, her mobile, and sitting in her bouncer. Her new favorite thing is to lay in her Boppy. She enjoys a 5 min. cat-nap after each feeding then wakes up ready to play!
*Sophi LOVES to suck on her hands, but still hates the pacifier. We're okay with that.
*She also loves when someone plays "bicycle" with her legs. She gets VERY excited!
*Sophi continues to sleep swaddled and falls asleep with us bouncing her. She does not like the rocking chair, unless it's Grandpa rocking her. :)

Overall, Sophi is a VERY happy baby. We are very lucky. We are also glad she likes to sleep, b/c we like our sleep too!! Sophi received her first set of shots, and I was SO brave. I've never heard her cry that way before!

Happy Mother's Day!

I had a great first Mother's Day! Our weekend started with our very first garage sale. Our HOA only allows community sales, so last Saturday was one of the two days you could have your garage sale. Deric and I seemed to find some things to sell and walked away with $50. Not too bad for our first garage sale! That afternoon Deric took Sophi to do some "errands" and I enjoyed a nap. It was so weird taking a nap without Sophi waking me up!
Mother's Day was very busy. We went to church, Deric's aunt's home, and my parent's home. I made a Wish List of everything I wanted to do/not do on Mother's Day.
Here was my list:
-coffee and breakfast at Starbucks
-no diaper changing
-lots of pictures
-take a nap
-no laundry, dishes, or cooking

Well I didn't get a nap and I changed only 2 diapers. But we sure got a lot of pictures and I didn't have to cook or clean a thing!! Deric even played only the music I like on his I-POD. :)
Sophi spoiled me with flowers and some other things. She even signed her name in a card and wrote "I love you mommy"! (Can you believe my 2 month old can write?) It was a fun Mother's Day and I'm so blessed with such an amazing daughter! (Thanks to Deric too for making it so special!)

*Quick job update: I went to check out the school yesterday and met the teacher and administration. I'm still not sure what to do, but have a couple more days to decide! Thanks for all your prayers!*

Decisions

I'm having to make a VERY hard decision. I don't want to make it. I've actually been losing sleep and can't think about much else. I'm having to make the decision to go back to work.
This is something I DO NOT want to do. This is something I'm going to HAVE to do until Deric and I can get back on our feet again. For the past month I've been racking my brain, posting ads, searching ads, to find something that would give us enough money. A couple of friends have talked to me about watching their baby, but it just wouldn't pay enough.
One night when I was really low, stressing about all this stuff, I found an ad on CCV's postings. This had was titled: Share a classroom. This lady was looking for someone to work part-time with her teaching kindergarten.
So I emailed her. Come to find out she's a Christian, actually knows a couple of people from our church, and was losing hope herself in finding someone to work with. I've been talking with her this week and we have been emailing back and forth.
The school is in the Glendale School district and I'd actually be bringing home what I made working full-time. (So it would pay enough!) It's a Title 1 school, mostly Hispanic, but the classroom is fully English speaking. I'd be working this cycle: 2 days one week, then 3 days the next, etc. We know someone that would be able to watch Sophi.
Here's my stress: It's a new school, different environment. I question if I'm a good enough teacher. I know, even though it's hard to admit, that I've let my brain become lazy. Granted all this baby stuff is stimulating it, but I'm not learning or challenging myself as much as I used to. I ask myself, "Am I trying to use Sophi as an excuse not to work because I'm scared?"
Secondly, thinking of leaving Sophi just makes me sick to my stomach. I know she'll be fine and it's not every day. But I never saw myself as a working mom. One of my friends, who I used to work with and works part-time now, says she loves it. Some days she says she needs a break from her kid and needs adult interaction.
So I need to make my decision by Monday. I'll take any input you can offer, any prayers you want to send my way. I either take this job, or pray something else will come along.

Here's a quick Sophi update:
She weighs 10lbs 7oz. We were in the dr. again b/c she was vomiting like when she had her ear infection. She does have a red throat, so just a viral thing. The nurse said the symptoms are the same as an ear infection, so at least we know it's not her ears.
Being with her yesterday really made me NOT to want to take the job. My poor baby really didn't feel good. :(

Blah! The heat is here!

Sophi and I are NOT excited about the heat. It takes so long to cool off my truck, I hate putting her in the hot vehicle. I guess hibernating season is upon us!
I can't believe it is going to be 100 degrees this week!

Good thinkin Sophi has her shades!

Stubborn Sophi

Now that Sophi has reached the 7 week mark, she is much more social. However, she is also much more stubborn when it comes to sleeping. She continues to do well sleeping at night.. 6-7hrs (one time 8!), it is never the same time of night, but at least she is sleeping that. She has decided the past couple days that she wants to fight her sleep. She'll fall asleep, but the moment we put her down, she's awake.
I've tried everything!! I keep rereading my book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" under Weeks 7-8 to see if I missed something. She is just stubborn!!
So yesterday I just let her cry. 5 minutes passed, still crying. I went in, bounced her a bit, then put her back. She started crying immediately. I left and waited 10 minutes. After 7 minutes she was asleep!! She cried a couple times in her sleep, but she slept for an hour.
While I'm typing this, I'm waiting the 5 minute stretch. She's not crying, but just wide awake in her crib sucking on her hands. Let me go check on her now... (brief pause while I get up to peak at her)
She's asleep!! However, her arms keep twitching and startling her. I will not go back a re-swaddle her!!
I don't know if this means we are going to have to let her fall asleep on her own now, everything I've read said she's too young, but she seems to do okay. WHO KNOWS???

Oh Karilee, you inspired me to clean my baseboards this week!! I did them all! I didn't get to the fridge/freezer, but my baseboards look great!! :)

Sophi loves her Mobile

Sophi is 6 weeks!

Sophi is 6 weeks old!! We saw the dr. today to follow-up for her ears. They are clear!! We are so thankful our baby is healthy. :)

I made it!!

Sophi holding her bunnies

Sophi is 5 weeks!

Sophi as a burrito!

Here is the scoop on Sophi's first night in her crib:
She ate at 8, then went to sleep at 9. I hate sleeping for a short time (1-2hrs.) so I usually stay awake until she eats at 11. However, last night she slept until 2:45!! That was great for her, but I was totally messed up. I finally went to sleep on the couch at midnight, woke up at 1 checked on Sophi, then tried to sleep in our bedroom. It was just too quiet. I confess, after having a mini-meltdown of being away from her, I went like a mouse into her room and laid on the floor next to her crib just to hear her. As I was lying on her floor, the wonderful book Love you Forever by Robert Munsch came into my mind. I didn't pick Sophi up like the mom in the book, but I whispered to Sophi those ever popular words, "I like you for always. I'll love you forever. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be."
As you can imagine, the floor was so hard, so I went back to the couch (who knows what time it was?) until she awoke at 2:45.
At 3, after her feeding I was able to sleep in our bedroom till 6 without checking on her. I assume there will be many more nights of me sleeping on her floor.
So in all, I made it, I survived. It was not fun, but a part of me enjoyed sneaking into her room and being close to her while she was unaware. Just me, her, and the Lord watching over us. I'm so in love. :)

I'm going to be brave

So we decided tonight is the big night. We are going to have Sophi sleep in her room, in her crib, for the first time. She has been sleeping at least 4-4 1/2 hrs. during the night and since that 6 week mark is approaching us, we decided that tonight we were going to try her in her room.
Early this evening we put her in her crib to see her reaction (she was awake, not asleep). She seemed to really like it and enjoyed looking around. We are starting this week to really watch for her drowsy clues and try to get her to sleep before she is overtired. Sophi has put herself back to sleep a couple times, but we are slowly going to work towards her falling asleep by herself.

I'm going to be brave. I'm not going to check to see if she is okay a million times. I'm not going to send Deric to check to see if she is okay a million times. I know her sounds. I will be okay. My baby will be okay. (Can you tell I'm trying to convince myself, not you?)

I'll let you know how it goes. Wish me luck.

Sophi's first day with toys

Deric and I decided to introduce Sophi to the 3 toys she owns. Here are some picks of us introducing them to her. She was amused for about 5 minutes.