Sofia's Holiday

These last two and a half months have been flat out crazy. There really is no other way to put it.  I have gone from  being a mom with a cruising baby to having an all out walking baby girl who keeps me very busy.  I love my life though and wouldn't trade being a mom for anything.

Sofia is changing so much everyday. She is now wearing size 18 month clothes and is still really tall for her age.  At her 9 month appt. she was 21 lbs 11.6 ounces. and was 29.5 inches long. We recently took her the the doctor again and she was 22lbs 8 ounces and 30.5 inches. An inch in just over a month! Not surprisingly though she has started to thin out and hasn't been gaining weight like she did before.  She is burning some major calories I am sure.  She has 6 teeth (2 on bottom, 4 on top) and will chomp on anything that enters that little mouth of hers.  She is such a good eater and still has yet to turn any food away or refuse to eat anything.

The other night, Greg, Sofia and I went out to dinner (Rey Azteca) with our friends and we were having a hard time deciding what to do about Sofia and her dinner.  She had eaten the majority of an apple sauce pouch but was still going to be hungry. We weren't sure to just share our food(which I refused because I know how much that little girl can put away) or if we should just order her a side of refried beans, or the unbelievable, order her something off the KIDS MENU.  From the get go I thought the kids menu was our best bet, however, Greg wasn't convinced Sofia needed that much food.  Anyways we ordered Sofia a chicken enchilada (which was adult sized) and a serving of refried beans and that little girl ate every. single. bite.!!! I was kind of shocked but then I wasn't surprised at all because she ate her dinner and half of mine a couple nights before(which is why I didn't want to share- I knew what she was capable of!!).  It was a good laugh and a rude awakening for Greg. I will never forget that night- nor do I want to!

While we were at church in mid-November one of our friends approached Sofia and waved to her, and to our surprise Sofia waved back. We hadn't been working with her on waving but we were excited at this new milestone. She now waves to everyone she sees.  I was able to teach Sofia to clap her hands and to high 5 during Christmas and Grandma Casper taught her to "roll em".  Which reminds me! For Thanksgiving we were able to visit Colorado for ten days and then were also in Colorado for the first two weeks of our month long Christmas break and then we spent the rest of our time in WA.  Christmas was wonderful! I think all of our Christmas expectaions dreams came true and that's always a good day.  We also got to talk with my little brother, Tanner, who is serving an LDS mission in the Oklahoma, Tulsa Mission.  He is currently in Little Flock, Arkansas.  It was great to talk with him! Overall, we had so much fun.  We were able to go see the Nutcracker in Denver with the Angus Family and then went to Priest Lake, ID with my family to bring in the New Year. It was such a good time.  Sofia had her first sledding experience and was a good sport about spending time in the cold snow.

Sofia now just roams around the first floor of our town home trying to sneak her way into Greg's office or the bathroom, (heaven forbid the dishwasher door- what is it with kids and the dishwasher??) which we usually keep closed up. She lately has started carrying her paisley minky blanket with her around the house which is a bit of a hazard because she gets tripped up on it, so I tied it in a knot to help the poor girl out.  She also has been coming into my kitchen and raiding it of the hand towels I hang on the oven handle. The more the better. She likes to carry them around sometimes 3 in one hand if she must. This last week when I had been doing laundry, I noticed Sofia always went through the load and picked out the socks and ran away with them. She's such a funny girl and does have a strange obsession with socks.  She likes to pull her own socks off just to carry them around.  It makes me smile and I love watching her discover the world around her.  Sofia also likes me to hold her while I cook which isn't something I do very often- but if I have to choose between her hanging off my legs, nearly pulling down my pants and both of us losing our balance- I'll choose holding this big girl. She sits so still and watches the kitchen aid, ingredient measuring- whatever it is I'm doing, she wants to see.  She has been working on further opening an already cracked open door too.  Along with the sweet comes the naughty. This girl throws all out feet kicking temper tantrums, which isn't fun. Enough said.  She literally walks everywhere, bends down to pick things up- Her next thing to master is standing up on her own without assistance.

At the end of the day, no matter how many naps she skipped or cut short, times she wiped her mouth or nose on my shirt, tantrums thrown, I still love her. I still like to sneak peaks of her in her crib, put my hand on her back to check her breathing or even feel around until I find her warm little head and binky plugged face.  Doesn't matter how many times I have to change her bum, change her clothes, clean her high chair tray or pick up her toys.  She's my girl. My little best friend who gets me.  This last week I was really sick with an ear infection and was easily in some of the worst pain I have EVER been in.  Sweet Sofia saw me trying to "coop" and she just had concern all of her face.  Greg said she waited by the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs for most the day waiting for me to come down. She knew mom wasn't well and gave me some big loud loves when I got to feeling better.

 

 

Greg is finishing his last semester at Penn State and then we move to Madison around the middle of May.  I am starting to get stressed about where we are gonna live and what and how we will move everything, which stuff I want to sell before the move and wondering how in the world we will buy better versions when we get there!? Lots to plan and lots to look forward to! Happy New Year everyone!