I am 4 months old TODAY!

Hey everyone --- Sophia decided to post one today!!

I am 4 months old today! What a whirlwind of time for me and my mama!!!


I am growing and changing each day!! I am learning to do more with my hands!! I think that one of my bottom teeth are trying to break the surface b/c I continue to put my first two fingers in my mouth and rub my bottom gum ALL THE TIME!! It sure makes mommy nervous since I am not doing a very good job sleeping through the night as it is now!! Although I sure love getting my mom out of bed in the middle of her deep sleep to see her!! She always comes to see me with a smile on her face... well, most of the time!

I have a new appreciation of my daddy's singing voice! Every time he sings, I smile really big... like in the picture below!!


Now when mommy sings, I just smile and pretend to like it, although she is never on key and her pitch is horrible!! Idol's Randy Jackson would say, "Yo-yo-yo dawg.... for me, for you... it just wasn't that good! There were parts that were very pitchy.... sorry dude."

As you can see above, I got to sit in my high chair for the first time EVER!! I really liked it!! I looked pretty small in it though... I can't wait until I get permission from the doctor to start eating bananas!! Mommy gave me a tiny taste of them last night and they were yummy!! Although I am having a hard time figuring out what to do with my tongue! I keep wanting to stick it out as opposed to pull it in and swallow!! Guess that trick will come with time and practice!!

Well, it is time for my nap so I better be hitting the crib folks!!

Hope you enjoyed!!

Sophia (with mommy's help typing!)

Rollin' Over

I can't believe I forgot to tell everyone -- we reached a big milestone last week!! Sophia has learned to roll over from her tummy to her back! She doesn't do it all the time, but if I work with her, she seems to "remember" how to do it! I have been trying to catch it on video since she started doing it! I had Nate bring the camera out yesterday afternoon and he caught the tail end of it! It is so hard to know when she is going to eventually roll over. She plays on her tummy, then sees a toy in the distance and tries to go for it. As much as I try to stage the event, it doesn't always happen! Go figure right?

Now, if we could only get her to go from her back to her tummy... guess that will have to wait... so here goes....




Allyson and Sophia

Beautiful Weather = Tons of Fun

We had a wonderful run today preparing for the Indianapolis Mini Marathon! Here are a few pictures that captured out morning activities! Sophia was so sweet and precious. She was awake and talking the full run (usually she is conked out in the first few minutes!) She watched Nate and I as we ran with her!! Once we got home, she ate and then went down for a 3 hour nap!! She sure had it rough!! Nate and I were able to catch some zzzz's too!



Mommy trying to run uphill!! Seriously folks, I think we were going like 1 mile/hr!



A little flatter land.... makes it easier to push her!! Although I can't complain b/c Nate did most of the hard work pushing her for about 85% of the run!


Sophia with her fingers in her mouth in front of our new home being built (JK!) !!! The best place for them huh??

Hope you enjoy!!

Allyson and Sophia

Dancin' with Daddy

Fun times on Friday's!! We had a wonderful long walk today in the 77 degree weather!! This warm weather is so invigorating for this mama!!

Here is a short little video clip of Sophia taken a few weeks ago! Not only does she love to dance with us in our arms, but she really likes to dance on her own! She will lay on her back and dance along with us!! She loves TobyMac (Thanks Aunt Sarah for letting us borrow the CD!)

Enjoy!!




Allyson and Sophia

Chillin' like a villain!

I think Sophia has found a new favorite position to lay...



... I always find her like this these days!!! She just puts those adorable little arms behind her head and chill's out!! A word I never thought I would use in my vocabulary with her! :)

Another thing I have found out is that she loves to be NAKED!! She is so content to have her little bottom air out!! She usually will fuss when I start to put on her diaper, clearly telling me.. "Mama, let me go comando!" I don't think my carpets are ready for that yet!!!



In other fun news.... I was at the gym yesterday reading my trash magazines (People and US Weekly) and saw a cute little picture! There were 7 babies in little "spa" tubs or "Tummy Tubs." The article said, "'The Smallest Spa' In Ijmuiden, Holland infants receive the royal treatment. After getting a massage from their moms, the tiny tots are placed into individual Tummy Tubs. The special basins are designed for the "cool down" segment that simulates the feeling of being back in the womb. Who knew being a baby was such hard work." (Sorry the picture is so small, it was a web pic.)

Wonder if I should start a "Sophia's Spa for Tiny Souls" up here in Indy??? Humm.... big business? People always give their baby the best of the best!!!

What do you all think??

Allyson and Princess Sophia

A Family Run ....

Sooooooo...... I had a genius idea last fall when I was pregnant -- "let's sign up to run the Mini Marathon again this year so that I can loose my baby weight." I thought -- since I ran it last year 5 weeks prego and was sicker than a dog, I figured this year would be so much better. It seems that all of our expectations with a baby and how life would be are 100% opposite of the way I thought. Having time to run is no exception. As many of you know, I have had so many problems with my milk supply that I have been told to "cool it on my exercise" and not go crazy. I think training for a 13.1 mile race probably would classify as "crazy." With all of that being said, we are still going to do the Mini this year. We are considering it a "Date!" I know, some of you reading this are thinking, "I could think of a much better time for a date than a 13.1 mile race!" We both have not had much time to train. We plan to walk/run all 13.1 miles, but mostly walk! This past Saturday I promised Nate we could go out and enjoy the weather and do a family 5 mile fun run (walk too). We had a blast! Sophia slept the whole time!



Stopped to catch our breath and take a picture since it was our first family run!!



Sophia had it rough didn't she....



Can you tell I am "fake running?"



My hottie husband!! He was a trouper b/c he pushed Sophia the whole 5 miles. It was all I could do to keep myself upright!!

Hope everyone had a great weekend and enjoyed the beautiful weather on Saturday!! Can't wait for Wed, Thurs, Friday this week to have some more kick butt awesome weather!!

Allyson

"Great" Times...

My grandpa turned 90 years old on Tuesday and we are having a surprise 90th bday party for him this weekend at his retirement home, The Greenwood Village. He loves to tell everyone that he is 90 and going strong. He still calls everyone else at the Village, "Those old people!" He has yet to consider himself "Old" and probably won't till he hits 100! Here is a copy of the bday card that we made for him (although it is a bit blurry when I uploaded it to the blog, but you get the idea!)

Happy Birthday Little Sister!!! Sarah's 26th birthday was yesterday, Tax Day. I also learned that it was the day the Titanic sank and the day Lincoln died! Poor sissy has to share her bday with all those tragic events -- especially writing the federal gvt a tax check!! That is VERY tragic!!

Sarah was over on Tuesday and we all were watching Oprah b/c she had on there "Country Stars." The best Oprah show is when she talks the least! :) I can't stand her, but I love some of the guests she has on! Sophia loved watching the Country Concert on TV. She was so tired afterwards she fell asleep!! Although, you may notice she has on her PJ's at 5pm.... well, that was b/c her diaper leaked and Sarah had 2 little butt cheek imprints on her black pants from Sophia!!


That same night, Sophia was helping her daddy pack his lunch. He was singing to her in his crazy, loud voice. He was also cutting a cheese block and kept telling her, "Oops, I cut the cheese Sophia." She just laughed and laughed and laughed! She is getting so fun right now!


Yesterday was also the day we got to go meet Sophia's new best friend, Laurel Elaine Powell. She was born 4/14 at 2:28pm and weighed 8 lbs 7 oz. She was 20.5 inches long. She is a cute little girl with a TON of black hair!! She seemed so tiny when I was holding her! I can't remember when Sophia was that small!! Hard to believe she was even a pound lighter than Laurel!!! It was great to see Erin and her GIRL!! Finally, after two boys, the Lord blessed her with a girl!! Laurel is also going to be another one of Sophia's cloth-diapered friends!! Go green baby! :)



Erin's mom was holding Sophia so I could take some pictures of Laurel! Sophia loved Judy!!



Finally, we ended the busy day yesterday at mom and dad's house for Sarah's bday dinner! My aunt Sue loved holding Sophia!! Of course you can tell the outfit is different -- only b/c Sophia had a MAJOR blow-out and ruined her cute little fleece outfit!! Speaking of that fleece outfit, it is one of our FAVORITE outfits! (Awesome job JILL picking it out! You have great taste girl!)


Well, that is all from our end!!

Not sure if I blogged about our time on Monday -- but Sophia is up to 12 lbs now!! Oh yeah!!! We rocked the scales this week!!! Hopefully she will be at least 12 lbs 4 oz this coming week!!

Have a great Friday everyone!! Enjoy the beautiful weather (those that live in Indy!)

Allyson and Sophia

The Weirdest Dream EVER

For those of you that know me well, know I have some crazy dreams at night! I typically remember them too! :) Last night was no exception! (I wonder if the dreams get crazier with lack of sleep? Hummmm...)

Nate and I were at the Indy 500, but the track had moved near the Indianapolis Zoo and Canal. For some reason, Nate and I left the track to go walk along the canal. We heard a HORRIBLE crash and then a large POP! All of a sudden the marine animals busted out of their tanks and started swimming down the canal! There were dolphins, polar bears, turtles, penguins, and many more "water" animals that had broken free. The zookeepers were along the canal guiding the animals through the canal into a larger body of water that fed back into the zoo! Everyone walking on the canal, including ourselves, were just amazed! It was pretty cool ... UNTIL a giant black cat came running by us. This wasn't your typical domestic cat either! It was huge and had HUGE fangs! It started circling around me (probably b/c it knows I don't like cats!) and was hissing. I was scared to death! I tried to climb the tree that was near me, but he started climbing after me and was biting my hand! His fangs were digging deep into my hand! I was screaming at the top of my lungs for the zookeeper that was 20 ft away to help me. He told me he couldn't b/c he needed to watch for the polar bears to make sure they don't get on the land. He suggested I throw the cat into the canal. So, I finally was able to grab the cat by the neck and toss him into the canal. Everyone knows that cats don't like water. The cat hit the water and was out like a light. Or course it starting running after me again and got my hand and dug deeper!! Once again I got my hands around its neck and threw it further and was able to get away.

Can you believe that???? How in the world did I dream such a dream??? I guess I will never know!

Hope you got a good laugh!

Allyson

He is Risen!

Happy Resurrection Day!! We celebrate because He is Risen!! We had a very delightful day today! We met my parents and grandparents at church for the service then we all came back to our house for an Easter Brunch! Sarah and Brandon came over as well! I have to say the menu was pretty tasty!!

Fresh Strawberries and Mango
(Amazing) Homemade Cinnamon Coffee Cake -- Sarah did an awesome job! Plus she even made it Gluten free for Nate!
2 different egg/turkey sausage casseroles -- Mom and I both made kick butt dishes!!
Strawberry Pretzil Salad -- Sarah's favorite!
Peach Ice Cream Pie -- My new attempt at an easy dessert. Too bad I cooked the crust a little too long b/c it was like a brick!! Nate was teasing my grandpa and told him that I put a little cement in there!! :) We didn't want him to eat it b/c grandpa doesn't need another trip to the dentist for a broken tooth! Oh well, at least it tasted good!! I know for next time, 10 minutes is enough!! At least we can laugh about it!

YUM!!!

I have to admit the Easter dress that my mom got for Sophia was a hit at church!! And with her mama!! I might be a bit biased, but she looked adorable in her dress. I even with all out with a little white sweater, white tights, and white leather shoes! She was just adorable!!


Sophia was looking at her daddy while mommy was snapping the picture!!! The tights were a tad bit big!! They almost looked like little pants!! :)


A little closer view of our princess!!! Isn't that hat so cute??? At least I didn't have anyone ask me if she was a girl or boy!! All of the cute older men at church had to come up and talk to her!! The grandma's did as well!! :)

Here is a picture of Sophia on Good Friday! I was making crazy faces at Sophia and Nate tried to get one on camera. Of course she ALWAYS smiles when we put the camera away!!! She still is pretty cute!!! Don't you just want to squeeze those cheeks!

We hope everyone had a WONDERFUL day with family and friends celebrating Christ's victory over death!!!

Allyson and Sophia

Pictures for your viewing pleasure...

... and we hope you enjoy!


My first time in my Bumbo seat 2 weeks ago. My neck is much stronger now so I do better! Anyone gotta good caption for her facial expression? Maybe, "What on earth am I doing mom?"



Check out my telephone!! I have been holding this thing for 10 minutes and it still keeps ringing, or is that a rattle? :)



The fist in the mouth -- a usual sighting around here!


Tummy time!! "I am going to reach this bug.... I just gotta!"



"Me and my doggie, gettin' all comfy... talking (or eating) the telephone!!"


Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter Weekend. Check back on Monday for pictures of her Easter dress!!! Hopefully we can actually get a family shot!! Those are rare around here!!

Praising God for Jesus' resurrection!

Allyson and Sophia

Tummy Time with Toby

We had a fun tummy time today with Toby (that is TobyMac!) She had excellent neck control and strength! The camera picks up the music -- so make sure your volume isn't up too high!





Other updates:

- We went our breastfeeding group yesterday and Sophia gained another pound last week! She is currently at 11 lbs 12 oz! Yipee!! We have decided that I need to stay on the Reglan while I am nursing her to minimize supplemental feedings and increase her weight. When I go off the Reglan, my milk supply decreases a lot. (For those of you pharmtards, one of Reglan's side effects is an increased prolactin level thus its off-label use in lactation).

First full week of Reglan - gained 1 FULL pound (9lbs 9oz to 10lbs 9 oz)
Next week off Reglan -- gained only 3 oz (Tear... only up to 10 lbs 12 oz)
Restarted Reglan -- gained another FULL pound (10 lbs 12 oz to 11 lbs 12 oz)

- My mom measured her last week and she is over 24 inches long!! YIPEE!! She is busting out of some of her 3 month outfits in the length! She still has TONS of room left in the belly though -- go figure!!

- Cloth diapering is going WONDERFULLY! I think that everyone should do it!! Saves tons of dinero and helps the earth! It rocks and isn't near as hard or messy as most people think! Her little bottom looks so good too -- not one rash EVER! We have found what works best for us! Her daddy is also a PRO at getting the CD on without leaks!!

- She is consistently taking morning and afternoon naps. Now that we have gotten this routine down, I have realized that I have to really PROTECT her nap times. I have to stop running all around town during the day and just do little short trips here and there! The bummer is this cuts down on my social time out, but I would much rather have a happy, well-rested child!!!

- Sophia is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her new best friend, Laurel Elaine Powell -- Laurel will be here before we know it! Even though we are so excited for her to come, we want her to bake a little longer!!

- We continue to cycle in our night sleeping. She will sleep many nights in a row of long stretches (6-8+ hours), but then cycle back to 3-4 hour stretches! It is so hard and frustrating for me!! I go to bed not knowing how much unbroken sleep I will get! I will be very anxious for her to start doing 8+ hours consistently! I know I will feel much better!!

- Nate and I are still planning on running/walking in the Mini. I have barely been able to train, we are going to run/walk the 13.1 miles. I sure hope I feel better than last year! If you remember, I was 5 weeks pregnant and my nausea kicked in 2 days before the race! My dear friend Apryl ran/walked the race with me! Thank heavens I survived (and so did Sophia!) without puking my guts out!! Although many times I thought I was going to lose it!!

Well, I think those are all the updates from our family!! Hope you enjoyed the video!! Check out Toby's CD Portable Sounds! It rocks -- literally!

Allyson and Sophia

Our first "mini" vacation

This past weekend we had our first "mini" vacation with Sophia. We traveled north to Lake Orion, MI to visit Nate's oldest sister Naomi and her family. Lake Orion is outside of Detroit -- about 10-15 minutes from "THE PALACE" where the Pistons play basketball!

This is the first time that Sophia has been able to meet Uncle Mike, Aunt Naomi, Cousin Lexi and Tyler! We left Saturday morning at 2:30am and headed up north. Sophia was AWESOME and slept until 7:30am. We arrived at their house at 7:58am! :) After we filled up her tank, she got to meet her new family members! Everyone loved seeing Sophia in person (pictures just don't do a person justice!) We had an awesome day Saturday in MI and the sun was actually shining -- which is rare for our MI trips! Mike's parents drove up from Jackson to meet Sophia and Naomi's best friend in Michigan, Jackie, came over as well. We were so honored that everyone wanted to see our little precious girl! It was wonderful to see everyone and celebrate Lexi's birthday together!! Lexi was a huge help to me b/c she would feed Sophia her bottle after I got done nursing. She even got to practice changing "blow-out" diapers and outfits! Getting some practice in so she can become a "safe-sitter" and watch the kids across the street this summer! Tyler loved to be with Sophia too! He would come watch us get her ready and change her!! I wish the Martoia's lived in Indy so that we could all spend much more time together!!!

Sunday we headed to Sunday School and Church. The people at their church are always so welcoming, friendly, and overall WONDERFUL!! We love to be there and hear the WORD preached!! Sophia had a VERY rough night sleeping Saturday night so that meant mommy did as well. She isn't used to sleeping in our room (hasn't for 10 weeks now) -- so she could hear every sound and wanted to be up. I had to move her downstairs into the dining room so we were far apart. By Sunday after church, Sophia was exhausted! She took a 3 hour nap! This was very nice for mommy and daddy! We were able to sit and talk with adults!!

Below are some pictures from our trip!!



Lexi loved holding Sophia!! She got a kick out of showing her off to her girlfriends at church!



Tyler and Sophia when we arrived! Sophia was still in her PJ's! I think this picture was taken before Sophia starting "tooting" on her cousin! He thought that was pretty funny!


Guess Sophia was trying to tell her cousin Lexi to stop talking so Daddy could take their picture!!


Mommy and Sophia! I know, these pictures are rare b/c it seems mommy always has the camera taking the pictures!!! This outfit is just adorable! It was a shower gift from one of the nurses that took care of us (the first shift!) We had so many compliments from people at church on how cute Sophia looked!!

We heard there was 4-7 inches of snow coming Sunday night into Monday morning so we decided to leave MI at 6pm and arrived back home in Indy by 11:30pm, even with one stop to feed her!! Nate did an awesome job driving through the torrential downpours from MI all the way to Anderson! It was horrible weather, but we were very thankful it was just rain and not ice or snow!

We had a great time in MI -- although, we won't be traveling overnight with her for awhile b/c she doesn't sleep well at all which leaves mommy too exhausted and running on fumes!!

Allyson and Sophia

Sophia's Play Date

Our dear friends Apryl, Greg, and Olivia live about 7 minutes west of our house. Apryl and I actually graduated high school together and have stayed in contact all these years!! We enjoy taking our girls on walks, going to Zumba class together, and just hanging out. Apryl and Greg were so giving with maternity clothes, baby clothes, a baby swing, etc that we wanted to give them something special. One of the most special thing to a parent with young kids is a date night with your spouse with childcare provided!! Apryl and Greg headed to one of their favorite restaurants (Olive Garden) for a nice dinner while we watched Olivia. Olivia turned two in Feb and is at such a fun age!! She loved when Nate read her books. She loved helping out with Sophia, such as holding her bottle while I fed her!! She also behaved like an angel!! I had Sophia in her crib watching her mobile while I was cleaning her diaper and Olivia wanted to get in Sophia's crib! They were so cute, I just had to take a picture and video!











The good thing about having both girls was that it was excellent experience to know what it will be like when we have our second child. It is going to be very busy and exhausting (I know VERY rewarding too)! I think this confirms our desire to have them spaced out by 3 years!! I have to give it to those parents that both work FT and have multiple children! I am going to need all that time at home to keep the "mothership" a float!!

Here is a cute video of the girls in Sophia's crib!!





Hope you enjoyed it!! We had a blast!!

Allyson and Sophia