Toddling

I. have. a. toddler. 

Holy shit. (pardon my cursing)

Todd-ler... as in, walking child. As in, not a baby anymore.

A one year old.

It has been a full year.

Holy shit. (pardon my cursing once again)

...................................................................

I have been very preoccupied. Sophia's first birthday party is this Saturday and I have been making everything by hand. It has been a HUGE project but it is turning out.... AWESOME! I didn't think I could do it. Usually when I try to put large things together like this the theme gets lost because I try to do so much. Luckily because we are on a tight budget I can't do a whole lot - hence making everything! Her theme is "Sunshine". She is my little sunshine and the name holds a fondness for me... so it seemed appropriate. I promise to post pictures after the party!!

Here's what you've missed (aka I have failed to blog about on time):

. Sophia went on her first airplane ride! We traveled to St. Louis for almost a week. It was so much fun and the weather was amazing!

. Sophia is walking. Yes... walking... or should I say toddling. It seems like it happened overnight! She can even stand her self back up if she falls down without any assistance!

. I turned 26.

. Sophia loves to clap and wave! No talking yet but she understands A LOT! She is also into sharing right now!

. Still no teeth. ugh. Laurin is convinced that she'll never have any! :)

. Still reintroducing solids but so far no reaction! (I have an inkling -sp? that it might be dairy)

. Sophia HATES grass... weird for a kid I know.

. We've been told for the umpteenth time that we need to enter Sophia into some sort of photo contest. Not to toot my own horn, but she is pretty dang cute! :) And yes, child modeling is something I am considering...


I am in the process of writing a post about Sophia's birth story..  mostly for myself, but I find my memory getting a little foggy, which is frustrating! But keep on the lookout, in case you'd be interested in reading it!

Hope everyone is having a great June! And...... HELLO FIRST DAY OF SUMMER!

37 weeks pregnant.. my last belly photo.

Sophia and daddy.. just born.

May 27, 2012. 11 Months old.

Lessons Learned

I must say it has been a chaotic couple of weeks. Sometimes life moves so fast that you have to force yourself to slow down and enjoy the small moments. Morning cuddles are the best moments for reflections. We've had a lot of stressors emerge in our life over the last couple of weeks. However we know that these things are only going to make us stronger. We are learning to effectively deal with them not only as individuals but as a family. Every step we take not only affects us but also our daughter. But as each day begins the light at the end of the tunnel gets a little bit brighter and we know that everything is going to work out.


Here are some lessons that I have learned..

1. Budgeting is my friend. Money has gotten a little tight so we have been forced to become friends the budgeting. It is actually working out really well! This is not to say that we threw money around like it was confetti - wouldn't that be nice! - but have really began to look at our finances to see where we can trim down fat. Preplanning meals is the best option. Since we have began doing that we have saved ourselves from the overload of crap that we don't really need.



2. My brother is awesome and I am old. Stevie turned 22 on the May 2nd. I love him dearly and he reminds me everyday how unimportant material things are. He is thrilled to recieve a pack of wrestling cards on his birthday that were only a couple of dollars. One of his biggest joys in life would be to go to the movies with my sister's boyfriend (although, that will never happen - ugh, don't get me started on that subject!).










3. Almond milk and coconut ice cream aren't that bad and babies NEVER forget the awesome taste of food! Around my brother's birthday Sophia broke out with a rash. I didn't think too much of it because a month ago she had what is called Contact Dermatitis. This means that she had a reaction to something that came in contact with her skin. We determined that it was her baby detergent and promptly stopped using it; the rash cleared up in a couple of days. Sophia also has eczema. So, between these two things a rash wasn't something to rush to the pediatrician's office for. However, the blood in her diaper a couple of days later was. Between the blood and the rash Sophia's pediatrician thinks that she may have a food allergy. She ordered us to exclusively breastfeed her and I was to cut out dairy until the rash was gone and then we would reintroduce foods one by one again. That meant no butter, cheese, sour cream, or milk... not to mention the millions of other things that have some form of dairy in it! LAME. It hasn't been the end of the world for me, there are quite a few options out there for a dairy free lifestyle and most of it isn't that bad. Unfortunately it puts the kabosh on some of our favorite recipes and Laurin has to be careful what he uses to cook with. The worst part about all of this is the look in Sophia's eyes when she sees us eating. The longing in her eyes with her lips smacking, it breaks my heart.

4. Being a mom is an emotional rollercoaster that infinitely loops. As every mom knows, everyday is a new adventure. Some days are relaxing and the babe takes her allotted naps at all the right times. She cuddles and giggles all day long. Other days the babe is cling, need and destructive. She gets into everything she's not supposed and throws continuous temper tantrums. Naps are the enemy and she will stay awake at any cost necessary. And some days are an odd mixture of both. Like I said, it is an emotional rollercoaster and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

The concept of time needs to be thrown out of the window. From the time you find out that you are pregnant, you begin watching the clock. At least that's when I started. Each month is counted down. "How much longer?" - the all-so-exciting pregnancy clock. Then it becomes the labor clock, "I was in labor for this long!" Or "I've been in labor for this long!" After that it's watching the feeding clock to record how long he/she ate for and when the next feeding should be. This type of clock watching was exceedingly stressful for me. Sophia was - and still is- a bird eater. She would eat for five to ten minutes on one side of the breast and be done. They normally want babies to eat for fifteen on each side. As you can imagine as a first time mom, I stressed over this. Is she eating enough? She seems fine and happy. She gained the proper weight after birth and from that moment on I stopped watching the feeding clock. I stopped timing how long she had been eating for. She was an efficient eater and I fed on demand. Unfortunately that's not where the clock watching ends. Next it has becomes the diaper clock, "When did I change you last?" Nap time and length of nap are clock watching culprits as well. The worst culprit of all though is the age. This is the age clock. Month by month goes by and you realize that you're baby wont be a baby forever. They are growing and getting smarter. It always feels like a lifetime when you are waiting for your baby to arrive, but then time races by once they are out. Sophia will be ONE in two weeks!!! Yes, ONE! I guess I'm feeling sentimental. It's a mixed emotions milestone. Embracing my toddler but mourning the passing of the baby months.My point is that I hope that I haven't wasted too much time watching the clocks in my life. I want to soak up every moment with my baby (she's not one yet!) that I can. Clocks slay time... time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life. -William Faulkner

Wonderful Weekends.

There is will be many upcoming posts to update you on what I've been up to! But for now here is a post about some wonderful weekends that we've had.

Since we live in Oregon or should I say the Pacific Northwest, we try to take advantage of the beautiful weather we get blessed with. The weekend before this last weekend was no exception! We took Sophia up to Washington Park to enjoy lunch in the sunshine. This activity is a favorite past time of Laurin and mine. So, Sophia and I got dressed up in pretty outfits and we all packed into the car.

We decided to grab lunch and after much ooh-ing and ahh-ing from the cashier about Sophia, we walked back to the car with our delicious smelling -and steaming- bento.

Washington park was its usual busy self, exploding with people enjoying the weather. There were people playing tennis, riding bikes, taking photographs of loved ones using the breathtaking views as backdrops, and just a few taking quiet nature-filled naps.

We laid our awesome giant beach towel - best Costco purchase EVER - out and made ourselves comfortable. Sophia loved sitting outside and took everything in. She even repeatedly danced to her classical music player! Laurin and I got some much needed fun conversations while still enjoying every moment of Sophia.

We sat in the park and played and played! Sophia loved climbing all over daddy! And they played airplanes and giggled!

This Weekend.

Or should I say this last weekend. The weather is was even better than before! On Friday, we had some wonderful friends over to barbecue. Sophia was shy in the cutest way possible! She eventually opened up and even let Auntie Erin hold her! It was wonderful to enjoy some adult conversations over a great meal and some wine!

 On Saturday, we had a wonderful dinner at Laurin's parents' house aka Nana and Grandpa T. I've never before seen Sophia open up with them the way she did. She giggled and talked and was her typical goofy self! She absolutely loved their large wind chime and quickly figured out how to make it "sing". 

Laurin even played the piano for Sophia, unfortunately she was too busy playing with Legos to notice. But that's okay because I loved every moment of it! 

On Sunday, we had a wonderful Family Day! Laurin had a quick shoot doing family photos in the morning, so Sophia and I had breakfast and she took a bath. We then chilled out with all of our windows open and caught up on a favorite tv show while Sophia napped. Afterwards, we did a quick trip to the grocery store to stock up on food for the week. After lunch we took Sophia for a walk. And boy did she walk! She made it halfway around the block walking on her own (well, holding onto our fingers)! After another Sophia nap, Laurin made dinner. Sophia sure does love to "help" in the kitchen! She is notorious for getting under your feet and making a b-line for open cupboards and the refrigerator!

And after dinner we took a pre-bedtime walk. What a wonderful evening it was for a walk! I love getting the fresh air and Sophia loved looking at the clouds, trees, people... EVERYTHING!

I must say that we've had a couple of wonderful weekends! These are the things I need as mom to be rejuvenated! It makes the week so much better and gives me something to truly look forward to. I try to treasure every moment because it just flies by in the blink of an eye and before I know it, its Monday morning and its back to the daily routines and waiting for Laurin to get home from work... 

Next weekend we have our Babyclass reunion! I love seeing all the little babies! Should be another fun weekend!

How was your weekend??

Here is our Menu for the week!

Monday: Spinach, Artichoke and White Bean Pasta

Tuesday: Nachos

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Chicken and Cream Cheese Stuffed Peppers

Friday: Leftovers

Trisomy Twenty-One

Today is World Down Syndrome Day! 

This day is meant to help spread awareness about not only the cause of Down Syndrome but also about how wonderful those who have been diagnosed are. I have a brother with Down Syndrome who is four years younger than me, so I know first hand what it is like being around a Downs kid. He has shown me so much of the world. What beauty lies in the simplest things. Seriously, this kid is happy with some wrestling cards and a Gatorade.

This last weekend. Stevie at his Special Olympic Oregon basketball tournament.

I've always been to his school events and recently to all of his meetings for possible new programs. I know that part of my never wanted to move out of Oregon (for college) because of him. I wanted to stay by his side. He means the world to me and I've always been So So proud to be his sister (even if he does favorite my husband over me)! 

Every chance I've gotten (ie. School reports, research papers, speeches) I've tried to raise awareness about Down Syndrome. Now you can to! Wear blue and yellow every March 21st. Let people know that you care! 

If you would like to know more about this day visit World Down Syndrome Day and if you would like to know more about Down Syndrome click Here or Here!