6 month milestones

My, my, my. Sophia turned 6 months old this past Friday...and I am still in shock. Last week here are some of her new developments: sucking just her thumb and hooking her index finger around her nose, wearing size 2 diapers, moving into size 3-6 months finally, trying to roll over a little bit, moving all over the place in her crib at night (thank goodness we aren't sharing a bed), and not surprising - getting cuter by the day. Sophia's fascination with kitties has also been growing. She loves to watch Mocha and Nona from across the room and tries to reach out and pet them when they come near. She hasn't quite mastered the petting yet - she tends to grab onto their hair and just keep her fist clenched. Nona doesn't mind at all but Mocha definitely is skiddish around Sophia.

We bought a tummy time mat for Sophia the middle of this month. She likes it a lot...for about 2 minutes and then she gets mad and starts crying. Hopefully we can keep working on this so she can build her muscles...even though secretly, I'm content with her not being able to crawl yet lol. Is that wrong? Hopefully we'll find a house soon where there actually IS room for her to get down on the ground.

Speaking of the house search....so frustrating. We just want to be in a house. Yesterday's sermon at church though was really good for me to hear. Doug, our pastor, talked about God answering our prayers - even if the answer is no. God knows when it's the right time and the right house for us. I think instead of praying that we find a house to move into, I should be praying for the timing - that it's the right house for the right money, etc. As much as I want to be in a house, I need to be patient. God knows best.

On Wednesday (the 20th) Sam and I got free tickets to go see Coldplay. It was an awesome concert and we really cherished a few hours of time to spend with just each other...and about 20,000 other people. We were EXHAUSTED however because Tuesday night, Sophia slept NO more than 45 mins at a time. She was extremely irritable and finally pooped Wednesday morning while I was napping...which means Sam had to change her. Hahahah. Wednesday night she slept better, but Thursday was back to another night of getting up constantly. I cannot wait for her to sleep thru the night. I haven't slept through the night since the middle of my pregnancy. While I was pregnant, I had to get up to pee. After Sophia was born and still in the NICU, I had to get up every couple hours to pump. Since she's come home, I have to get up every 2-3 hours to feed her. It's frustrating - especially when so many people are like "oh, you mean she's not sleeping through the night yet? She should be. I would ask your pediatrician what you can do to help her sleep longer." Well geez people, we obviously want her to sleep longer, but she wakes up hungry most of the time, not just because she doesn't feel like sleeping. Anyway, we'll find out this Wednesday at her 6 month appt whether or not she can start on some rice cereal or baby food. Which means, we need to get a high chair, which leads to another good point - our dining table is in storage until we find a house...and the high chair we are planning to get just straps onto the dining chair - it's not a free standing seat. Sophia will also be getting her 6 month shots. Great. It's Sam's day off, but he unfortunately has court and won't be able to come to the appointment.

Tomorrow is Sam's last day to ride with his FTI (field training instructor). After that, he'll be cut loose and on his own. I'm definitely going to be much more nervous when he's by himself, but I'll just have to keep praying for God to bring him home safely each day. I'm so proud of him!!!

Sophia on her new tummy time mat.

Notice how much drool is on the mat already.

A better view of her picnic mat.

Some pretty clematis on one of our walks.

Baby geese on our walk.

Hugging her dolly.

Off to the Coldplay concert.

Hahah. I love this picture.

At the concert.

Enjoying the great music.

After they shot out confetti.

6 months old today!!!

Playing in her jumper on her half birthday :)

"Petting" Nona.

Ready for a walk and then baseball. She's wearing her "Ocean View Mermaids" tank. If you didn't know, Norfolk has mermaids all over the city just like Chicago did the cows...but the mermaids are permanent. Can't wait to get a picture of her in her tank next to one of the mermaids IN Ocean View (where my sister Kristin lives).

The start of May....

May 3rd: I turned 24 this year. No, I do not feel any older. I feel exactly the same :) I started off my morning by going to church. Let me just tell you right off the bat - I was not in a good mood that day. I was soooo tired because Sophia had been getting up every 2-3 hours for the previous week...thank you incoming teeth. So after church Sam, Sophia, and I went out to Firehouse Subs for lunch with a few church-going friends. I ate a foot long sub and it was muy deliciosa. After that, we went to Walmart to get a few ingredients to make my birthday cake...banana cake. When I got home, I attempted to take a short nap, but Sophia was crabby and fussy. Sam started helping me make the cake, but Sophia was just too cranky, so I made the cake myself, then started on dinner (tilapia, baked potatoes, and creamed green beans). While dinner was baking, Sam helped me pick out some pictures to have printed for all these frames I bought at Michael's....months ago. Lol. We managed to pick out pictures for 4 of the frames. We ate dinner, gave Sophia a bath, and put her to bed. Sam lit my candles, sang happy birthday, and we went to bed after having a piece of cake and milk. For my birthday, Sam got me a Vera Bradley camera case, wristlet, and tote bag. I think I already wrote about this in a previous blog...now that I think about it. Oh well. I'm not erasing it all.

Sophia got a new jumper/bouncer from Sam's mom. She's starting to like it more, but still doesn't stay in it very long. Pretty sure she's got a short attention span, but it's ok, she's a BABY. She also doesn't sit in her bumbo seat that long. Maybe this all has to do with her being more cranky than usual. She just wants to be held a lot - or at least have you sitting right next to her, looking at her, and not doing a darn thing else.

May 10th: My first Mother's Day!!!! The weather was beautiful, but to be perfectly honest (and I really don't want to sound like an ungrateful whiner) it was a rather downer of a day. I got ready for church - curled my hair and took time to make myself presentable, went to church, took a couple pictures with Sam and Sophia after church, then came home. Sam gave me a gift certificate to get a massage - so I'm looking forward to that. Then, off Sam went to work the 2-10 shift. And thus, I was alone with Sophia. Kristin was hanging out with her family because Mark was leaving the next day (today) on deployment again. Sue and Ben were out getting a late lunch together. And that's all the family I have here :( So, I returned some stuff at Michael's, used my gift card to the Limited, used some gift cards at Kohl's (sunglasses and 2 pieces of clothing for Sophia), and then went home. I TRIED going for a walk with Sophia after we got home. I put her in the front carrier and the walk started out really well. She made it about 15 minutes, just happy as could be. Then her sleepiness kicked in and she was ticked. She started screaming and crying and I could not get her to stop. I took her out of the carrier and carried her the last 30+ minutes on our walk....still crying. To make me feel even worse, there were about a million people out for a walk since the weather was so beautiful. Crappy. That's all I gotta say. She was still cranky when we got home so I gave her a bath, fed her, and put her to bed by 9:30. I sat around til Sam got home and then we went to bed. That was my day. Just let me get on my soapbox and don't judge me. I am thankful for all the wonderful texts, and even a phone call from my mom, but I was so sad to only get one card (thank you, Caitlin!!!) for my very first mother's day ever. Please don't think I'm ungrateful. I am so thankful for all the people that love me and are in my life, but wouldn't you be sad if you got ONE card for your first Mother's Day?? Oh well. I enjoyed getting to make cards for the lovely mommies I know (homemade and some photo greeting cards on Snapfish) and I hope they all loved them too. I hope all the moms had a GREAT day yesterday and know how much they are appreciated!

That's pretty much it for news. Tonight I'm going to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and a drink with Kendal and Amber, so I'm looking forward to that. I always feel guilty leaving Sophia with someone though while I'm out by myself. I don't know, it just feels selfish to me.

Enjoy the pictures!

At one of the boys' baseball games

On Mommy's birthday...ready for church

Lighting my 5 candles

Ready to sing Happy Birthday

Mmmm banana cake

Sitting in her new bumbo chair

Sucking on her pinky

Playing in her new bouncer/jumper from Sue

Out for a walk...again

Being silly

All clean!

She loves her piggies

Smilin' for the camera

My first Mother's Day! ...before church

Family photo after church

Sophia and Mommy

My handsome husband!

Tummy time!

Look at me Second

Looks just like her daddy

mmmm hannies

Beautiful baby blues

Sam's first time giving her a bath at home 4-2-09

Grandpa's first time holding her EVER! 4-5-09

5 months old 4-22-09

Exactly what her shirt says

Big blue eyes

At Connor's baseball game

Cutie Patootie in her hand-me-down dress!

Love this picture so much

Super cool at baseball again

After church

First trip to the beach....but she's not wearing her swimsuit

Family picture at the beach

She loves her giggle bunny from her Great-Granny

Her VERY first time grabbing her toes!

Out for a walk

Ok, so I forgot to add all the pictures from our trip home to Wisconsin...forgot they were in a different folder. I'll add those the next chance I get - and I have new pictures that are still on my camera too.