What has Sophia been up to?

Well, Sophia, now 7 1/2 months, 28 inches, and 21 pounds, is quite the busy little gal. She scoots everywhere and is rocking back and fourth trying to crawl. She is trying to master the 'wave' though at this point she just sticks her arm up in the air with a half open hand when anyone waves to her. She is sleeping twelve hours in her own crib, sometimes even thirteen, and no longer needs to nurse at night. She has now graduated from her baby car seat to her big girl car seat and looks so big and grown up in it! She can keep herself entertained for quite some time and loves to play on the ground with Shakespeare and Hurley. Though she still doesn't understand the meaning 'be gentle' she tries her best and grabs their fir and kicks and squeals. They don't seem to mind, they just love the attention. It's so neat now, because you can look at her face when she sees something new and exciting, and you can actually see the wheels in her head turning, trying to process it all. When we read books to her now, she likes to help turn the pages. She also loves music! And sometimes rambles in a high pitch voice when we sing to her, almost like she's trying to sing along. She is so animated and constantly has a big smile on her face. My favorite time right now is when she wakes up in the morning after a long night's sleep and she's still kind of groggy, that's when she hugs me tight, and wants to snuggle. She reminds me of a little glow worm. She lights up our lives and fills us with so much joy. Having a little girl has really opened my eyes to the simple things in life and is teaching me to be excited about each and every day!

New flavor...

Since we have introduced baby food to Sophia, she has enjoyed most of the flavors except a peas. So I as I was buying baby food the other day, I saw some interesting new flavors on the shelf. They now make guava, mango, and papaya baby food. This week we introduced Sophia to guava and she absolutely loved it! She kept opening her mouth for more after each bite and would smack her lips together like she was trying to savor every last bit of the guava baby food. It's good to see her enjoying such a wide variety of flavors.I'm excited to see how she reacts to the mango and papaya.

Her First Word...

Yesterday, Tuesday, September 16th Sophia said her first word, Da da. She has been jabbering sounds and such for quite some time, but to hear her actually say a word caught us by surprise. She said it a few times for me and my family when I was at work and then at home Jeff finally got her to say it again so he could hear it and it just melted his heart. He was pretty proud that her first word was da da. I'm hoping her next word will be momma, guess we'll just have to see :)

Almost there...

Sophia is now 7 months and is busier than ever before. She is constantly grabbing everything and anything in sight. She is so aware at this stage and is jabbering up a storm. She recently has been getting up on her hands and knees and rocking back and fourth like she is getting ready to crawl. Then she'll push herself forward and face plant it. She doesn't quite have the concept that if her legs move, her hands need to move forward too, to catch herself. She's doing good though, and I'm sure before we know it, she'll be crawling all over our house.

Snot and Smiles...

Sophia has her first real cold and I feel so bad for her. She is sneezing alot and has a runny nose, but despite it all she still has a big smile across her face and is so happy! She is such a little trooper. She hasn't slept well at all today and only wants me to hold her. Her eyes are also glassy and watery, but she doesn't seem to mind. She still has a great appetite and quite a bit of energy, which is good to see. I just hope she gets over if fast! Poor girl:-(

Bedtime, now a breeze...

Initially bedtime was Jeff and I going to bed and Sophia came right along with us. I would nurse her to sleep in bed with us and wake up every so often trying not to roll over on her or wake her up. As she got bigger, she began to take up more space in our bed and Jeff and I ended up on the edges trying not to fall off. At around 4 1/2 months or so I began putting her in her own crib at night. At first it was complete torture to me because she would cry, sometimes up to 45 minutes. Of course she would finally fall asleep, but then the next night, we would have to do the routine all over again. As time went on she cried less and less and bedtime got easier and easier. The last week or so, Sophia hasn't cried at all when I lay her down to bed. I take her up to her room, rock her in my arms for about 5 minutes (enjoying it so much that I have to convince myself to lay her down) and then gently put her in her crib. She'll roll over to her side or sometimes even look up at me, but then her eyelids softly close and she falls asleep like a little angel. Now when she goes to sleep, it's like she knows she needs the sleep, or actually wants the sleep more than she wants me. It's so comforting to see her sleeping so soundly and so content. She will sleep now up to 11 hours and it is so nice to have our bed back!

Developing a sense of taste...

Sophia has been eating baby food now for about a month and half and up until now has liked everything we've fed her. She really loves ham with pineapple and chicken with apples. But two nights ago I tried feeding her peas and her reaction was hilarious. I put a little spoonful of the peas in her mouth and she spit the whole thing out onto her bib and mad a disgusted face. I never liked peas as a child and still don't, but I thought I would try to introduce them as a yummy veggie to Sophia. However, she has made up her mind and wants nothing to do with peas. It's kind of neat to see her developing her own sense of taste with food. She's becoming a little person and knows what she wants now.