Wordless Wednesday

*there will be more of the same pictures in another post later. There were just too many pictures from today!

The OTHER blog

I've done some updating over yonder on the house blog. Just a little reminder that it's there. I told y'all I wouldn't let you forget!

From House to home

I just remembered this funny story.

I can laugh about this now because it happened a long time ago. It was the weekend Cody's parents were in town. The evening before we had gone to Jazz on the Lawn. It was a good time and when we got home we were so tired! SO TIRED! We weren't co-sleeping all night anymore, but after about 2 I'd bring her to bed and we'd sleep there. If Cody couldn't go back to sleep he'd go sleep in the other room.

We were organized back then (multiple middle of the night feedings hard at work!). We had a little bottle station set up on our room so I could quickly mix up a bottle. Water was already in there, just put the formula in and shake. Well something like that. You see the step I didn't just type had something to do with the CAP TO THE BOTTLE. Which was the same step I missed that night. The water was in there, the formula was in there...and I went to shake. It went everywhere. EVERYWHERE. I mean Sophia (who was actually in my lap on the bed) and I were covered. The bed was covered. Our headboard, the floor, the nightstand...I'm sure even the bedroom door had something in it. There was nothing IN the bottle.

So I carry Sophia (Covered in powder and water) into the room Cody was in and attempt to wake him up. I am trying to explain that there's a mess. A big mess. And he needs to wake up. But he's a hard sleeper, nothing wakes that man up. So he's asking a million questions. He doesn't know what's going on. Finally he goes "Why didn't you put the cap on?" Ummm....isn't that a million dollar question.

It paints a lovely picture. A very exhausted Cody, a very exhausted Alena. And lets not forget a very hungry Sophia. It's not an easy mess to clean up at 4 am. Some places just water. Some places powder. Some places a thick formula paste.

It was about this time that I stopped feeding Sophia in bed. I also give sole credit to this event for pushing me over the edge in my playing of "The Farmville".

For now, there are two.

Sophia has two teeth now. Two itty bitty pearly whites. I thought I would be sad, the end of truly gummy smiles. But I'm not, it's adorable. Wee baby teeth for my wee one. She doesn't like for me to take pictures of her teeth. In fact, it's nearly impossible. When she laughs where I can see them, it's at just the right angle where I can't catch a picture. As the teeth make their way all the way out I'm confident that I'll get tons of fun pictures!

In the mean time I did get this picture.


(I took this picture last week-I told y'all I was behind-the teeth are out more now but I still can't get a good face shot with teeth....)

Too Messy for Words

I'm going to give you a heads up. The next few pictures are messy. They involve a biter bisquit. Sophia. And drool. Oh the drool.

On Saturday we decided to give Sophia her first taste of a biter bisquit. At first she didn't want to put it in her mouth. Which made no sense to me since every other item in the world goes there first (iPod's, remote controls, toys, blankets, paper...you get the point). But when it's food, she can't even come around to the idea to put it to her mouth. Eventually it made it's way and she was in love. But it was a mess. And anyone that knows Cody knows he is Mister Clean. He does NOT like a mess. He wanted so badly to take it from her and clean her up before giving it back. But I convinced him that she was ok. It was ok to be messy sometimes. She's in her high chair....not sitting on our couch. All was still right in the world.

"Ummm, this does taste like Mommy's Cell Phone"

"How much can I get into my mouth at once?"

"GET IN MY BELLAY"

"I am just getting rest off my fingers. YUMMY"

Just a typical weekend

Well anyone that knows me well knows that grace isn't part of my nature. I'm naturally a clumsy girl. This was never more apparent than it was this weekend.

Lets start with Saturday. We head to the grocery store for baby food. With in a minute of being there someone ran into my heels with their shopping cart. This happened again with someone & a stroller in the baby food section. I was starting to get the feeling I wasn't welcome in the grocery store. Obviously. We leave there and head to Lowes. After all it's where we are every.single.weekend. We needed to pick up some trim paint, return a can of unused ceiling paint, and get yet another can of sample paint to try test out the basement with. Well as we browse the tile section trying to get an idea of what we want for the bathrooms the can of trim paint falls off the stroller and onto the floor. Of course it would open and pour and splatter and make a huge mess. We head back up to the paint section to pick up the finished sample can. We pause by the paint brushes to pick out one for the spindles...and whadda know! THE SHELF FALLS ON ME!

Now you're thinking. GIRL TAKE A HINT! Everything is telling me to go home, crawl under the blankets and go to sleep to reset the day. But nooo....the day isn't over. NOT AT ALL.

As we make the plan to just head home before I catch myself on fire or something, I somehow hit my pinky toe and we're fairly confident by the swelling & bruising that it's cracked. It's not pretty y'all. So fine. Saturday wasn't going my way. We decided Sophia & I would just stay home that evening while Cody headed to a friends to watch the fight that night.

So Sunday we're thinking, this day has to go better. Right? Well the day seems to go smoothly. At least physically. I seemed to misplace everything I was looking for. And still can't buy the paintbook we got from the painter last week. But the reason the day appeared to be better...it was all a build up to the main event. Sophia's room is on the 2nd floor. After we put her to bed Cody was doing something upstairs still and I came down the stairs AND FELL DOWN THE STAIRS!

I don't even pretend to make it graceful. I mean I fell...arms in the air shriek coming out of my mouth THUD as I hit the bottom. (Probably mini-thuds as my butt hit about 8 steps). Cody comes running and at first I'm thinking "Ok everything hurts narrow it down THINK ALENA THINK did you break anything. Your ankle is it ok? Your back is it ok? Your elbow hurts, is it ok? Your head...did you hit your head? Your butt hurts? Can you even break your butt?"

Those thoughts only lasted a moment before I realized it doesn't feel like I've seriously hurt anything but it all DOES hurt. I start crying. Sobbing. An ugly cry that could put Oprah's to shame. It wasn't just about the pain (of which there was a plenty!). It was just a release of the weekend. How can one person be so clumsy in one weekend (Mom--no need to answer that one!).

On the good side, I caught nothing on fire. I flooded nothing. I didn't do any serious damage to anything besides myself. Although yet another house project did hit a problem. I'll be posting about that on the other site shortly.

I will be posting pictures this week!!! We aren't going to the park as planned, so I'm going to get it all set up for the week! I feel like a little old lady (total assumption since I've never BEEN a little old lady) and the idea of sitting my (very bruised) hiney on the grass today just doesn't sound pleasant!

There is a reason why I've been told my nickname as a young one was "Boo Boo". This weekend shows how little has changed from my childhood!

I had a great plan.

I was going to wake up this morning and take pictures all day of our day. How adorable Sophia is when she see's someone come into her room in the morning. How she smiles all big when I walk into the livingroom with her bottle. How cuddly she looks during her nap. How she smiles with her still mostly gummy smile. And on and on and on through the day.

But. Yesterday I got sucked into March Madness. K-State was playing. And since I lived in Kansas for a few years...I feel a connection. Well they decided they didn't want to just seal the deal during the game, they wanted overtime. No actually what they wanted was double overtime. Which kept me awake until after 11. (Go Wildcats! Elite Eight!)

Sophia knew this was happening. She knew that I was awake. She was waiting. She wanted to teach me an important lesson about sleep--go to bed early enough to get some! Because she woke up at 12. 1. 2. (she ate at two) 4 and at 6 she was up for the day. This is SO unusual for her. Cody and I had a short talk about it at about 2:30. We're wondering if she's starting to go through a little more teething.(She's only stopped teething for a week...not even a whole week since the second tooth broke through!)

So, the lack of sleep turned me into a zombie at 6 when Sophia woke up. And we've only managed an hour nap so far this morning. So I'm still not exactly bounding with energy. Sophia is though...how does that work?

So now day long pictures. In fact no pictures because I'm about to lay on the floor and let Sophia gouge my eyes out, try to rip out my hair and rearrange my lips.

Update from yesterdays appointment

Lets hope I can write this with out Sophia abusing the side of the laptop too much.

She's kicking it...she wants me to play "Little Piggies" (which I am stopping to do every few words!!)

The doctor thinks it may be a reaction to fabric. We are already using a free & clear detergent to wash everything. And the fact that it has been looking better when I put butt paste on it is also furthering the belief it's something that touches her (the butt paste doesn't really get absorbed, it serves as a barrier between her skin and everything else)

So for now she needs to wear a plain white onesie under everything. We are to put .5% hydrocortizone cream on her in the morning and at night. And cover the cream with butt paste. Mid day we put on a fragrance and dye free lotion on her (We're trying Aveeno first).

We have only started this program last night and this morning her back was looking SO MUCH BETTER and it felt smooth again (not rough and flaky).

Ok well it's time to attack the pun'kin with tickles. She's not prepared...giggles soon to come!!

Oh Monday Morning.

This Morning is painful. We were busy in the house this weekend (pictures and posts will be posted this week on the other blog). Which meant no real down time at all. And thanks to Words With Friends on my iPod I didn't go to sleep until midnight!! (what was I thinking?!)

In major Chandler news: Sophia's two bottom teeth have both broken through!

Thank goodness!! I am hoping that earns us a little break (I have my doubts about that).

This morning Sophia has a doctors appointment to look at a little skin issue she's having on her back. My google skills tell me it is probably baby eczema. But I'm no doctor (I know I've fooled you all for this long haven't I?!). Hopefully the real doctor can give us some answers.

I know you all want pictures. I really did plan on doing a picture post last week--but time escaped me. But I do have this one picture that I think I need to get printed off and a million copies made. Because seriously, this picture is worth ten trillion words!

Two by two, two by two

Instead of singing about the Ark, I'm talking about Sophia's itty bitty teeth. A teething baby leads to a busy mommy. I was so busy I missed Wordless Wednesday. I hate missing those days, the days where I can show off pictures of Sophia and be shameless.

I'd love to tell you that I have pictures to share. But I don't, I mean I do, in my camera. But I have nothing uploaded and ready to go.

I will share a few adorable stories with you.

Sophia has started "kissing". It's not puckered up, it doesn't in with a MUAH sound. But it's her version of kissing. Mouth open as much as possible, pushed as much as she can into your cheek, nose, chin, forhead--whatever she lands on. When we have a kiss war I end up with my face entirely covered in drool. That simply means that she wins--hands down. Who can beat that?

She has also started blowing raspberries with food in her mouth. At first I tried to not laugh, I didn't want to encourage such mess! I mean peas were sprayed everywhere. Mango's found their way to my hair! But it wore me down, and I just started cracking up. It's funny, there's no way to deny that forever.

Lastly, Sophia has quickly learned that Ellen = Dancing. When I say "Oh lets turn to Ellen now!" she gets excited. Then I pick her up and we dance around like loons during the theme song. (we take a break during the monologue--She's heavy!) It's adorable! She is so fun.


I also have a very embarrassing story to share that you can laugh at:
The painter came today and was painting our bedroom. I totally forgot he was in there. He had the door closed and wasn't making noise or anything. Anyhow, when Sophia starts complaining about her teeth (remember two by two) I usually dance around being a dork and she forgets about the pain and laughs. Well I was doing it in the kitchen while loading the dishwasher. I was getting down!! And I look up and he's coming around the corner--he totally busted me!! It was hilarious. Ok well it's hilarious now. I quickly recovered and played it off. But yeah, embarrassing.

Ok the next post will be a belated wordless wednesday because I think I may have a great Daddy/Daughter shot!!

What is going on behind the scenes.

It is front and center for us. We are exhausted. I lay in bed and wonder if she's crying or if it's just still in my ears from hearing it for most of the day.

For the past few days Sophia has been a different baby. A totally different temperament. We've come to think that she must be teething. We can't think of anything else. But we can't see anything. Not that she'd really let us, the moment we get anywhere near her mouth she moves, she chews, she sticks out her tongue. She doesn't want us to know.

It's hard on the heart, nerves and ears to hear wee little screams all.day.long. Yesterday I broke down and cried with her. What else could I do? I cuddle with her as much as she will let me, and try to help her feel better.



It's heartbreaking right? Little pieces? Tiny little pieces on the floor. If you could hear it...you'd be paralyzed by it. Crushing.



We've tried tablets, tylenol, teethers, motrin, and gel (Not all together). We're working on the right combo to help her feel her best. If these teeth would just come on out!!

[why do her eyes look cross eyed here???]

Sophia wants to tell you a story:

Wordless Wednesday

Quack! Quack!

We recently got Sophia a new tub, a duck tub. She's still not sure about it, she like the lawn chair style seat that she had been using. It was easy for her, she could just chill. I took these pictures a few nights ago when she first used the duckie tub! Just looking at these pictures makes me want to go up there and wake her up and kiss her cheeks!!

These smiles? They are for Daddy!

Cleanin' the teeth (that she still doesnt have!)

"Yeah I'm cute, whats it to ya?"

It may be a bad habit...

Sophia can nap on her own. She's takes about one nap on the floor on her own a day. But I usually cuddle with her for two of her other naps of the day. Why? Because I know that the day will come that she'll push me away in favor of a shiny toy, our dog, or the floor that she can run around on.

I love smelling her hair, kissing her forehead, patting her back...I love all of it. And I soak it all in. It's the time I try to memorize the dimples she has that will one day be little knuckles, the toes that she got from her Daddy, the rolls on her legs, the cute button nose....I try to soak it all in. Every moment of it. Because it won't always be like this.

Our relationship will change. She'll learn to say no. She'll wiggle out from my arms so she can run around and chase Rocky. She will not want to cuddle, she won't even want to take a nap. But today, a few days from her 7 month birthday, I am enjoying spoiling her and soaking her in.

But what do I write about??

This past week I got an e-mail from a pregnancy/mothering website/community. Surprisingly (to me anyways) it wasn't from the website/community that I frequented while I was pregnant with Sophia.

I have no idea how they found my little blog. I have no idea what they saw that got their interest. But they asked that I be a featured blogger and write something for them. There's no monetary gain. It would just be something to do.

But what would I write about? What do I have to say that a bunch of pregnant women/mothers want to read about?

I e-mailed back and forth with the woman that contacted me and she sent me a list of past topics of featured bloggers so that I could get an idea of what to write about. They were good topics..but I can't reuse a used topic!!

I do have a couple of topics in mind...but I'm still not sure.

So what do you think??

Sophia likes food!

I thought it was about time I gave a run down of all the foods Sophia likes, and the one that just didn't make the cut. I do still make a lot of Sophia's food, but there are some things I've given her from Gerber because it wasn't in season (and so what was available looked disgusting) or because if she didn't like it homemade I gave it a shot premade. In 2 cases it was a consistency issue and she actually loves the food. So when making baby food (or if you aren't making it) I would try the food a different way if you think your baby doesn't like it. It could just be the consistency they aren't fond of.

Pears
Apples
Bananas
Mangos
Prunes

Green Beans
Zucchini
Acorn Squash
Peas
Sweet Potatoes
Carrots

This past week I've added yogurt to a few of the fruits and she loves it! It was a good addition for her.

She's also taken to oatmeal, but prefers it mixed with Apples.

She does not like avocado's. It's been the one thing that she just doesn't want anything to do with. And I'd say that's pretty good!!

Checking in real quick!

It's been a crazy week. Cody heads back to work tomorrow and Sophia and I will try to get back into a schedule. We are unpacked. Ok well, there are about 5 boxes packed still. With DVD's and craft items (things we don't NEED or really want unpacked now). It's a great feeling to be able to walk in and sit down. For a month or so now there's always been that feeling of "I should be doing SOMETHING" but now...I get to do nothing but write this blog and watch the Oscars (In HD it's more overwhelmingly obvious that these women are wearing WAY too much make up! (Oh and we have cable for the first time in a year! YAY!)).

Sophia is doing well in her new room. I am IN LOVE with the color. I never really knew how much I was missing out, settling on a different color that I liked meant that it never felt JUST SO. But this color is just what I wanted for her. I can't wait to get into decorating it. It's going to be amazing!

She's growing so much and just taking our breath away all the time. In the past week Cody has gotten to play and relax and hang out with her and I think it's really helped their relationship grow. He's found her tickle spot (that I still haven't found) and he can make her giggle for hours.

I can't wait to get back into posting here and updating y'all on what's going on here daily. I will be back to posting more pictures and babbling about the things that are on my mind!

Things I never want to forget.

Sweet innocent baby breath

Sleepy Smiles

Crazy Fuzzy Hair

Fat Fingers

Leg Rolls

Open Birdy Mouth

Mirror Time Smiles

Playing with Paci.

I have so much to say....

...and so little time to update on EVERYTHING.

First things first...we're moved into the new house and are about 70-80% unpacked. Cody is one very determined man! There isn't a box located on the main level or upstairs. We have been go-go-go until roughly 1030 every night. Tomorrow is intended to be our down day. However I imagine there will still be QUITE a bit that ends up getting worked on tomorrow.

Sophia is still working very hard to crawl, but hasn't managed to get it going quite yet. Which is good, because we haven't baby proofed anything. I need to put my order in with One Step Ahead (I love their website!) soon, before she takes off and heads right to the fireplace, or the stairs, or the cords for the tv/bluray/dvr.

I am trying to think of what else is new in Sophia's world. She is now in 9-12 month clothes, and has some pj's in 12-18 months. But that's sorta been that way for a week or two.

As for Cody and I, we are just tired from working a lot around the house. Cody is off of work this week....and (Pause, there is a Dremmel being used to cut some nails in the soon to be pantry, it's sorta a scary sound knowing that they (Dan and Cody) may or may not be fully in-the-know about what they are doing!) we are enjoying being able to do projects with out cramming things into two days.

Over the past week there's been things I've wanted to update y'all on and I can't remember now. When I do remember...I'll let you know! :-)

Edit: I am going to post pictures and stuff in the house blog probably tomorrow. So look there.