Little Christmas Package...

Since we will be out of town for Thanksgiving this year, Jeff and I decided we would decorate our house for Christmas before we left. So yesterday, while Sophia was taking a nap, we pulled out all of our Christmas decorations and began putting them up. We decorated the living room, dining room, kitchen and down stairs bathroom. It looks and feels so Christmassy now! We knew Sophia would probably love the decorations, but we didn't anticipate how much she would react to them once she woke up. We both heard her up and about in her room, so Jeff went up to get her and bring her downstairs. As she walked down the stairs her eyes lit up with excitement. She began pointing to all of the decorations including a big stuffed snowman on the stairs and was saying, "man, man." She also loves this big ceramic Santa sitting in a chair that we put right next to the fireplace. She went over and sat on his lap and kissed the top of his head. You would have thought it was Christmas morning to her. It just warmed both of our hearts to see her so entranced and excited about all of the fun decorations we have collected over our 7 1/2 years of being married, and now she gets to enjoy them! We still had a few bins of Christmas decorations to put up. One of which contained some self adhesive Christmas labels for presents. Sophia was immediately drawn to these and pulled the whole sheet out (thinking they were stickers), and wanted us to put one on her hand. Well one thing led to another and before you knew it, she was covered from head to toe in Christmas present tags. She thought she was so hilarious and when Jeff and I would laugh at her, she would cover her mouth and laugh too! She just lights up our lives and we are so in love with our little girl!!!

After Jeff put one label on her tummy, she said "mo, mo" (more)

Sophia picking out the labels she wants to wear

Cracking herself up!

All decked out sitting on Santa's lap

Mums the word...

So after much debate, Jeff and I have finally agreed on a name for our little girl. However, we still don't have a middle name picked out, well so I thought.? The other day we were talking with my family about having a name, but wanting to keep it a surprise until the baby arrives and I said we still didn't have a middle name. Well, that's when Jeff told me he had picked out a middle name that he thought was cute. So I asked him what it was and he told me it was a surprise and that he would tell me once the baby arrives. You can probably guess my reaction, lol. At first I was like, "what the heck, man!? I'm the one carrying the baby, I should have the right to know!" But after a while I thought, "actually it's kind of cool and gives me a little something special to look forward to after I have her." I just hope I like it, lol. But I trust his taste, after all he likes to decorate, shop and take bubble baths. He's a man after my own heart:) I just can't wait to hear the middle name he picked out!!!

New Bedtime Routine...

Every since we transferred Sophia to her "Big" girl bed, we have been rocking her until she is completely asleep and then laying her down. We were doing this because we were afraid that if she was awake when we put her to bed she would try to climb out. Well, after a few weeks, Sophia's night time routine started to get quite lengthy and become quite the tiring process. As I have come farther along in my pregnancy and my tummy has gotten bigger, it has been increasingly harder to rock Sophia or for her to get comfortable in the rocking chair. Because of this, she would fidget and squirm around, thus kneeing and elbowing my stomach which was very painful. And because it took her longer to get comfortable, it took longer to rock her to get her to fall completely asleep, thus resulting in a 45 minute night time routine. This was beginning to wear me out and by the time I would finally get her to sleep I was ready for bed! Sophia was also waking up every few nights in the middle of the night and wouldn't go back to sleep, so I was moving her over to the spare bedroom and sleeping the rest of the night in there with her. I was beginning to miss the comfort of my own bed, and a good nights rest! Well, Jeff and I talked and decided it was time to start putting her to bed completely awake and letting her sooth herself to sleep. We made this decision based on her age and due to our second little girl that will be needing much of our attention come February. We want Sophia to feel safe sleeping in her bed all by herself and feel comfortable going to bed on her own, so that if the baby needs us at the same time, it wont be a struggle. I had a feeling this wasn't going to be a fun process and was probably going to be harder on me than on Sophia. Well, I finally decided the sooner the better. So when Monday rolled around, come nighttime, I was going to sing two songs to her, give her a kiss and lay her in her bed. After doing this, I left the door open so that I could see if she sat up in bed or tried to climb out. Of course she cried and she sounded so sad! After about 20 times of telling her to lay back down and that I loved her and she was a big girl and needed to sleep in her own bed, she finally pooped herself out and slept through the night until 8am the next morning. Tuesday night was even harder, when she cried and through out whimpering would sadly say "mooommmmy". It tore me up inside to hear her call for me and I had to keep reminding myself it would be better for both her and I, to sleep in our own beds and get a good nights rest. She is getting so smart these days and tried using many methods of stalling, such as needing to go potty, needing a tissue for her nose, and wanting me to kiss her head. It took every ounce of strength to not give in and pick her up and rock her!!! When Wednesday rolled around, I layed Sophia down, she cried for about 15 minutes and fell asleep. Thursday was much the same and Friday was even easier and it took Sophia about 5 minutes of quiet whimpering before she yawned, rolled over and fell asleep. Tonight, I couldn't believe it! I sang her two songs, layed her down and not a peep!!! She closed her eyes, snuggled her bear and blanky and went to sleep all on her own without any crying at all! I am hoping this painful process has finally come to an end, and she is comfortable falling asleep on her own in her own bed. Though I do miss rocking her, I know in the long run, this is a good change and will all be for the best.

Trick or Treat...

This Halloween marked Sophia's second year of trick-or treating! We went over to Jeff's parents house in Sunnyside to take Sophia trick-or treating in their big neighborhood. We started off the evening with some yummy Jack-o-Lantern pizzas and then bundled her up and took her out to get some treats. The first few houses we went to, Sophia was a little hesitant, and not quite sure of what to do. After about 10 houses or so, she became quite the old pro and would go up to the house, knock on the door, and when they opened it up, she would pick out a candy, put it in her bag and then say thank you and finish off with a wave good bye. Her favorite house had to be the one where the family had dressed up as the muppet characters. She just stopped, stared, and smiled and kept on waving to them. It was a nice change of scenery to see some people dress up friendly and cute instead of scary. A big bonus was the weather! In the morning it had started off drizzling, so I was a little worried, but by the evening, it was a clear, dry, and fairly warm October night. Sophia was such a big girl and ended up walking (and running from house to house), the entire time! It was fun to see her facial expression when she would try to figure out who the people were in their different costumes. We were hoping all the fresh air would tire her out, but by the time we were finished trick-or-treating and got back to Jeff's parents house, Sophia was only more excited to see all the treats she had collected! We visited for a while longer, put Sophia in her pj's and headed for home to unwind from a busy night. Sophia seemed to have so much fun and was quite the little trooper with all the hustle bustle and activity going on. I know we are a little biased, but we thought we had the cutest little candy corn witch around! It turned out to be such a wonderful Halloween!

Before Trick-or-Treating at Grandma and Grandpas

Cutest Candy Corn Witch Ever!

Our little family all dressed up!

Sophia wasn't sure what to think about this scary guy!?

Pumpkin Carving Time...

Last night we decided we should finally carve our pumpkins before Halloween passed us by. So out came the pumpkin carving tools and spoons to clean out the pumpkins. We set up the table in our kitchen complete with a plastic table cover to catch all the mess and started carving and cleaning and making our jack-o-lanterns. We thought Sophia would go crazy and make a big mess with the seeds and pumpkin gunk, but she surprised us both and took one pumpkin seed out of the pumpkin at a time. Her pumpkin was way too tiny to carve so she helped Jeff clean out his and then I drew a little face on hers. She was so content just sitting there holding onto her little pumpkin while she watched me and Jeff carve our faces on our pumpkins. I think she thought her pumpkin was a toy, rather then a decoration, lol. After we finished with our pumpkins, we cleaned up and put candles in the inside and set them out on the front porch. We took a quick "pleased with ourselves" look, before realizing how cold it was and hurried back inside to sit on the couch and watch "Charlie Brown and The Great Pumpkin." By the time the TV special was over, Sophia was yawning and pooped out from all the activity. It was off to bed for her, but she seemed like she had a very fun evening! Jeff and I both had alot of fun with our little girl too! It was fun to have her experience "pumpkin carving" for the first time to actually dig in and be a part of it all! We are having so much fun making memories with her more and more! I just can't wait until Christmas!!!!

Daddy, Mommy, and Sophia's pumpkins before carving

Jeff and Sophia posing with their pumpkins

Sophia showing off her itty-bitty pumpkin

Sophia helping daddy clean out his big pumpkin

All she would say was "ewww" when she saw the pumpkin gunk

She was very meticulous and took one seed out at a time

Finished Product

This one was taken without a flash so you could get the full "jack-o-lantern" effect

6 months and going strong!

Yesterday Jeff and I went in for my 6 month check-up and to discuss with a different doctor, whether or not I should get a c-section this time around. The doctor looked at my chart and without any hesitation said I most definitely will need a c-section and that there is too great a chance of me tearing again to risk a vaginal birth. She explained that the scar tissue from my last tear is actually weaker than regular tissue, so it is pretty likely I could tear again over my original tear, which in the long run could cause some serious physical problems. I am SO glad we got a second opinion, because I was all ready to go ahead and do it vaginally if my first doctor thought I would be okay to do so.

The doctor explained that I couldn't lift Sophia for 4 weeks or drive for 2 weeks, so I will definitely be needing help from my family! Jeff will be taking some time off to help the first week, but once he has to return back to work is when the challenge will begin. Sophia is pretty self sufficient these days. The only times I usually have to lift her is to get into her highchair for lunch, into her bed for nap time, and onto the toilet for potty training. My mom had a great idea and suggested we get her a few lightweight stools to put in her room and in the bathroom so she can learn to climb up on her own. I thought this was a great suggestion and will be going to get a couple plastic stools to start the process, so she's used to it by the time the baby comes.

I asked the doctor if they were limiting visitors due to the swine flu epidemic, and she said yes. No one under the age of 12 can come into labor and delivery, which means Sophia and my triplet siblings wont be able to see me or the baby until we get home from the hospital. Not being able to see Sophia while I'm in the hospital or introduce her to her new baby sister right after she arrives, is going to be the hardest part for me for sure! Sophia is my little buddy, my heart, and not having her there to share in this moment is going to kill me. I know it is for both my health and our new little girl, but it will definitely be a bit of a struggle for me emotionally. I know I will be so excited to see her when we bring the baby home!

Over half way there and only 3 1/2 more months to go, I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! Yes, pregnancy has been pretty easy compared to most, but I am getting to that point where things are harder for me to do and I can't wait to get back into shape and be completely self sufficient once again! We will be scheduling the c-section at my 8 month check-up and it will probably be around Feb. 7th, give or take a few days. It would be kind of funny to have our daughters birthdays be 7/11.

The following pictures are just some cute pics I took of Sophia in the bath tub, that I thought I would share with you:)

Pickin out a pumpkin...

Thankfully the weather cooperated on Sunday and we were able to take Sophia to the pumpkin patch as planned. Last year she was only 8 months and could barely stand on her own. This year she had so much more fun! We were joined by my parents and siblings and Jeff's parents, and we all met at Olson's Farms in Damascus. I had never been there, but it turned out to be a really cool pumpkin patch! We took a horse drawn hay ride out to the big pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins. When Sophia saw all of the different sizes and shapes of the pumpkins, she couldn't decide which one she wanted. She just kept going from pumpkin to pumpkin picking them up and wanting to hand them to me and Jeff. After finally deciding on a pumpkin, we walked back to the main area to take a group picture and pay for the pumpkins. They had a huge 500lb pumpkin that we took a picture of Sophia sitting on, and they also had a guy dressed up as a stuffed scare crow that would pretend to just be sitting there, and then jump and scare everyone! It was hilarious to see people's reactions, however, Sophia didn't really know what to think about the scare crow. She didn't seem to like him too much, lol. We had such a wonderful time and were blessed with such a beautiful day to enjoy the pumpkin patch! I can't wait until next year when we will have two little pumpkins of our own to enjoy!