Giving Thanks

Another great week in the Barrett family household. We have so, so much to be thankful for. Some things make us realize just how blessed we are. Here's how our week went:

On Wednesday the 25th, Sophia had her 1 year checkup. Sophia weighed in at a hefty 17lbs 3 1/2 oz and is 29" long. Hahaha, what a lightweight. ...We're working on it. We're also starting to work on eating more table foods and drinking regular cow's milk. She had her iron levels checked (I guess this is normal for all 12 month appts) and they were great. I was extremely surprised that she didn't cry at all for the finger prick! She didn't even squirm....it was a different story for her 3 shots. She got her MMR, Hep A, and Chicken Pox shots. She cried while getting them, but after they were over she was just fine. And here comes the bad news: Sophia's doctor said her heart murmur is sounding much harsher (We weren't even aware she still had a heart murmur - what the heck? It was never mentioned at ANY of her other appts). We knew she had one when she was born because she had a hole in her heart - as most preemies do. This hole normally closes up on its own. Well, our doctor looked back in Sophia's discharge notes and it states that she also has pulminary stenosis...neither Sam nor I had ever been told this. So, if she still had the murmur at age 1, she needs to go back to CHKD to see a pediatric cardiologist. Pulminary stenosis is when the valve that carries blood from the heart to the lungs is too small. The pediatric cardiologist will most likely do an echocardiogram to look at the blood flow and determine the severity and course of action. Here's a creepy factoid - when I called to make her appt, the first available they had was on January 12, 2010. That's the one year anniversary of Sophia being discharged from CHKD. Freaky. Yikes. It really does give me the willies. So anyway, until then we won't really know anything.
I also made a trip to Carter's to return some things that I felt guilty for buying, and to exchange some gifts for different sizes. I then went to Starbucks and enjoyed the most magnificent pumpkin spice latte - courtesy of my fabulous sister, Chels. MMMMMM. I then stopped in at my old work to visit everyone, mainly the receptionist...since she's never there when I stop in to see her.

Thursday was Thanksgiving. The weather was beautiful and the food was delicious! We had Ben and Sue over for a late lunch/early dinner. We had turkey, stuffing, cranberries, green beans, broccoli cheese casserole, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, and I'm probably forgetting something. We had cherry pie, apple pie, and squash-apple bake for dessert. Yumm! While the women did the cooking, Sam and Ben put up our new porch lights. They look awesome! I forgot to put a picture on here so I'll do it next week. After we stuffed our faces, Sam, Sophia, and I walked to some friends' who live one street over. We stopped in to say hello and then were off to Kristin's house...where we actually ate our desserts. We played Wii bowling and had a blast.

Friday was Black Friday and it was my first time actually doing the early morning shopping! We got up at 3:30 and took Sophia to Sue's house. She slept there while Sam and I checked out Walmart and Old Navy (only because we thought Home Depot opened at 5...when really it was 6, so we had time to kill). At Home Depot we bought a shop vac for $20 - originally $100! We bought Christmas lights and poinsettias for .99. Yessss! Such bargain shoppers. Later that day Sam helped fix his parents' fence (it was smashed by a tree during the "Atlantic Assault". After that, we went to the mall to get some goodies at Bath and Body Works and use a giftcard at Gymboree. Sam got a new phone because his phone would no longer charge the battery. A new battery was going to cost the same as a new phone ($50), so he got a new phone. This was the first night in over a week where Sophia actually enjoyed her bath! Thank goodness, I was getting worried.

Saturday morning we got up early and went to the DMV, which opens at 8, or shall I say is SUPPOSED to open at 8. We got there just before 8 only to find that they were "closed in observance of Thanksgiving". Ridiculous. They were closed Thurs, Fri, AND Sat for Thanksgiving. Yuck. Sam went back to work in the afternoon and I started on Sophia's thank you notes from her birthday. I plugged in our first balsam fir wallflower...and the house smells like Christmas. MMmm.

Sunday morning did NOT start out well. Sam had gotten home at like midnight Saturday night after work and had change over (meaning he now switched to the 6am-2:30 pm shift). Sooo, he had to get up at 4:30 to get ready for work. He woke me up at 5:30 to tell me that someone had slashed open his top on his mustang. I thought it was a joke. Unfortunately, it wasn't. At first he was very worried that they had taken his clipboard for work - which contained all his summons and case information. Luckily, it was in his trunk. Nothing was stolen, but it's not a good feeling when something like this happens in your neighborhood - much less in your own driveway! We are definitely keeping our outside lights on from now on. Ridiculous. Another person had her car rummaged through (nothing taken) and another had her garage gone through (again nothing taken) on that same night, on our street. I went back to bed for a few hours before I got ready for church. Sophia and I went to church, then bought diapers at Babies R Us and had to pick up some printer cartridges at Office Max. The weather was beautiful so we all went for a walk after Sam got home from work. I made turkey pot pie with our Thanksgiving leftovers....it was to die for!

So since our Saturday DMV attempt was unsuccessful, I went on Monday morning. I got there to find a lovely line formed outside. Yes that's right, there was a line to get IN to the DMV. It wasn't too bad of a wait and I finally got my married name put on my license lol. I'll have to wait to see my new picture though, because they mail your license to you now. I'm sure it will be awful because I was trying to keep Sophia from crawling away from me while they took the picture. Great. Sam was of course exhausted when he got home from work, so Sophia and I went to the grocery store so he could nap.

Tuesday I finished Sophia's thank you notes, swept all the floors, and we started to put up our Christmas lights outside. We did two trees and the bushes in the front of the house. We still need to get clips so we can put our lights up on our roof. Yay! We will be getting our Christmas tree in the next few days...as soon as we get some gates to put around it! It should be interesting trying to keep Sophia away from the tree. I'm not looking forward to that.

Enjoy the pictures!!!!

Waiting with Daddy at her 1 yr checkup

Squash-apple bake is ready for the oven


check out that yummy turkey!

The table is all set :)

My little turkeys I made

Eating some rolls and turkey

Drinking milk all by herself

Sam is about to puke because he ate way too much

Hanging out at Kristin's on Thanksgiving

Trying to fit between two chairs to get Allie

Turning the pages in one of her books from her birthday

Sam's Mustang top :(

That's Sam's shoe...Sophia is still such a peanut

Sophia has also started to pick her nose. It cracks me up, but Sam is so embarassed by it. I obviously won't encourage it, but she has no idea what she's actually doing. It's just another hole she can stick her finger into...like her ear or mouth.

She loves playing with all her new toys!

Smiling at Dylan in the swing

Geez guys, lighten up! Outside putting up lights

Putting lights on the bushes

The bushes are all lit up!

Muah!

Turning my tree lights on!

She loves to pull herself up to stand using anything...but she hasn't figured out how to stand up all the way without holding onto something.

Our Little Girl is ONE!

Wow. What a big week for us here in the Barrett household! :) Between babysitting, bunco, date night with Sam, my car breaking down, finishing a chair slipcover, and getting ready for Sophia's big birthday party, it's safe to assume we were all pretty exhausted. Wednesday night I played as a sub at bunco and had a blast. It was great to get out of the house, socialize with other adults, and actually have a reason to shower, do my hair, wear something other than sweats, AND put makeup on. Thursday was an exciting day: Sophia's been babbling for quite some time now, but she is now very, very clearly saying DaDa...a lot! Woohoo! ....Now if she would only say "mama". Friday we ran tons of errands and while we were out and about, my car decided not to start in the Wendy's parking lot. Awesome. NOTTTT! We had someone jump us...and now I need to get my connections cleaned off or possibly replace my battery. I haven't had any issues since then, but I definitely don't want to blow it off and get stuck somewhere. Saturday night Kristin and I finished making the chair slipcover and I prepared most of the food for Sophia's birthday party, which was on Sunday. Sunday morning we all woke up and went to church. Sophia cried like heck in the nursery, so they came and got me. She sat with us through church and was find. I'm not sure why she was so upset. After church we went home and decorated cupcakes and the house. The party was fabulous and we're so blessed that we got to celebrate with everyone! I just still can't believe it's been a while year already. I think back to all the unbelievable milestones: the first time we saw her open her eyes, her first time eating, finally getting out of the nicu, her smiles, sitting up, rolling over, laughing, trying baby food, crawling, etc. They really do grow up much too fast :(

Some new developments over the last week: saying dada tons, VERY lovey dovey with mommy (hugs, kisses, snuggling), discovered her eyelashes and loves feeling them - especially when she's eating, babbling a lot, AND to my surprise, now hates her bath. I have no clue what happened there, but she screams bloody murder and tries to climb out. I'm going to try to get in the tub and play with her to see if that helps....I'll keep you posted. That's all for this week. Enjoy the pictures!

This is how my week started out. I fed Dylan a bottle and he proceeded to throw up more than he even ate...all over my lap, down the couch, onto the floor, and onto my feet. Disgusting!

Date night on Thursday with Sam. We went to Enricos to hear the big band play and enjoy some delicious cuisine.

One of my Thanksgiving cards I made. The body is made from Sophia's feet (crossed - the heels are the head) and the feathers are obviously her hands.

Being really cool while sewing the slipcover for my chair.

Go ahead. Admit it. You want to gobble her up! ...Dang, should have saved that caption for a picture of her on Thanksgiving!

The finished product!

And the front view

Getting her out of her crib on her birthday morning! Little lovebug!

The 61 cupcakes I decorated...Sam's mom helped with the ladybugs.

Sam's decorating job in the living room

Mama with the birthday girl

Getting her into her birthday outfit!

Sam's mom put the hat on her, and she was ticked off. She hated it!

Yummmmm!

Opening some presents!

She likes her dress from Hori, Chels, and Tanner!

Out to dinner with Sam's parents.

Too much partying for this birthday girl.

I just love this picture.

Opening an early Christmas present from Momma Coop!

Adorable!

So tired that she passed out in her bouncer!

I managed to pick her up out of the bouncer and transfer her to the crib, and she barely batted an eye.

Whirlwind Weeks

Yes. That's right, I didn't update the blog last week. Life has been crazy here, and it's kicking my butt. Ok, well it's not, but it's making a valiant effort. Last week when I was supposed to update, I was working on making Sophia's birthday party invitations. Well, then the following night we got hit with a horrible nor'easter. Our power was only out for a few hours, but we didn't really have the internet going for two days. On top of all that, I've been busy with babysitting, party & Thanksgiving planning, cleaning, and oh yeah, LIFE. A few key events/happenings: starting to make a chair slipcover, hung picture shelf in guest bedroom (no, I don't have a picture in this blog. woops.), worked the church nursery for the first time, got our leaky roof (courtesy of the nor'easter) fixed, fixed our water pump that must have died during the nor'easter (our backyard was under about 4" of water), went to a baby shower, dyed my hair (still have yet to decide if I should cut it....it hasn't seen scissors since New Year's Eve last year), made and mailed Sophia's invitations, etc.
Sophia has been trying more table foods over the past two weeks: different kinds of breads/rolls, scrambled eggs, lasagna, homemade pancakes, etc. Some new things Sophia's been doing: smacking her lips...almost like a fish sorta, pulling herself to stand up to everything - crib, table, chairs, etc, crawling like a maniac, spinning around on her butt, very interested in MY eyelashes, bashful/shy around anyone she doesn't really know, and giving me lots and lots of love. She nestles and rubs her face onto me and gives me kisses. It is such a wonderful feeling, almost makes me cry just thinking about how awesome she is. She is such a blessing. I could not have dreamed up a daughter even an ounce of what she is. God is great.
Read on and the pictures will have a little bit more of an explanation this week.

Unwrapping her first birthday present from Mama Coop...chasing after the tissue paper.

Birthday goodies: polka dot dress & headband, birthday girl t-shirt, book, and legwarmers. The first few days we read that book (bedtime kiss for little fish) - I honestly read it like 8 times in a row. She is infatuated with it. Funniest part is - we found out Sam's mom has it at her house too! Lol.

Looking adorable in her striped, button bow and headband.

Testing out the grocery cart walker with Daddy. She can push it all by herself if she has on grippy socks or shoes. If she doesn't have those on her feet - the floor is too slippery for her. We got this as a hand-me-down from Leanne Green at church. Thanks, Leanne!!!!!

Close-up of her cute self

Spending time with her cousins before they go to school in the morning. Kristin's been working a lot more at Little Bay Canvas since the nor'easter hit and damaged boats. Therefore, the boys come over to my house in the morning and hang out for a while before walking to school. Sophia gets SOOOO excited when she sees them. She smiles really big, laughs, claps her hands, and the whole nine yards. Then the boys leave for school and she doesn't want to play with me on the floor. Hmmm....lol.

Sophia crawls over to the console and opens the doors to where her books and toys are. She almost always goes for a book instead of a toy. She loves the Eric Carle books.

Here she is again on another day, getting into "her" cabinet.

Here's my big girl, standing in her crib, waiting for me to get her out. Putting her down for bedtime and naps has been a challenge since she learned to pull herself to standing position. She stands up and just cries, and screams, and cries for a very long time. I wonder if part of it is separation anxiety because when I pick her up, she usually just lays her head down on me and closes her eyes. I will definitely be talking to my pediatrician about this for some suggestions.

Pulling herself up to the coffee table so she can peek at me.

Sleepy girl on a wonderful fall afternoon walk.

Splashing in some water I put on her high chair tray.

On the move in her dress from Mama Coop.

"Who me? No, I didn't do it."

Such a cutie patootie!

I could just eat her up....everyday.

Projects I've been working on:

Making a slipcover pattern, so that I can sew the slipcover for our chair. Kristin is the brains and skill in this project, but I did sew the entire pattern together. We then cut the pieces apart at the seams so we could lay them directly onto the slipcover fabric. All the pieces are cut out. The chair will be finished later this week. Kristin has been too busy with work to help me finish it up, but I am excited! This is only the second thing I've ever sewn...the first was when I was in 6th grade! Lol.

Baby shower card and envelope for Laura Muntzer. The envelope says "new baby" and the card says "she's expecting"

A close up of the cards and envelopes I did for Sophia's party. I made 25 invitations. Whew. It was a lot of work, but I figured the opportunity to do this will become less and less as time goes by.

The first batch of invitations ready to be put in their envelopes and mailed!

A birthday card for Jackson - the son of a college friend. Jackson was born the day after Sophia!

Sophia's birthday card and envelope. I hope she likes it! ...at least when she's older and looks at all the things I saved for her. If she doesn't, I know I at least will cherish it.