Rough Week

   This week was a rough one for me..more so than I have had for a very long time. Sophie has started coming into her own..she is forming her own opinions, and making little choices. It is wonderful to see her becoming her own person! Wonderful and frustrating for me at times. Not because of anything she does, but because of myself in my own head. She used to eat everything..now she only wants to eat yogurt, fruit, and very few other foods. Everyday last week I would make her a different lunch to see if there was something else she would eat. She would maybe eat 3 bites and be done. Then she would whine because she was hungry. I was getting so frustrated..why doesn't she want to eat? What am I doing wrong? How can I make it better?
~Solution..She is her own person, she can choose what food she does and does not like. We have those opinions, why wouldn't she? I wouldn't make dinners Clint hated, the same should go for my sweet, beautiful daughter.

   Next breakdown of the week..10 years ago my estranged best friend took his life..he was 15. Not a single week has gone by in the past 10 years that I haven't thought of him, and silently mourned for him. There has never been any closure for me, for many reasons. I guess with all the emotions, and inadequacy I had been feeling all week, it made my lack of closure more prevalent. I have never been able to take him flowers, or do anything to remember him in anyway. I hope he knows I think about him, that he meant something to those he left behind.
~Solution..I have decided to have "Bryce" flowers in my home on either his birthday or the day he passed away. (Still haven't decided which.)

   Last breakdown of the week..we were at a family party on Sunday, and Sophie got hurt. She didn't want me to comfort her or hold her. She just wanted her daddy. Quite honestly I felt ticked. I take care of her everyday. I feed her, I change her diaper, I teach her things, I take her to do fun things, I am there for every good mood or crappy mood she goes through. So why the heck when she wants comfort she goes to her dad!
~Solution..She doesn't get to see her dad as much as she sees me. She LOVES her daddy, and she should..he is incredible. It wasn't a personal attack, she just wanted the big strong arms and kisses of her daddy.

   What a dumb week. I was so emotional over so many things I couldn't control. But that happens, and I feel like its pretty normal. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband who listens to me, gives me compassion, and talks sense into me when I need it. I felt so much lighter this morning. I am grateful to have such a beautiful life.

Update

It never fails. I make a pledge to do better at blogging..and fail every time. Well this is my 50th pledge. I will do better!! I feel like there is never anything new with me and Clint..just with Soph. She is so fun and smart. Every time I get her out of her crib she lays her head on my shoulder and gives me a hug. She loves to whisper and point, especially when she first wakes up. Just telling us that everything is where it should be. She took a couple steps tonight..that was very exciting! Whenever we go to a store people will ooh and aah and make googly faces at her. She eats it up..She will smile and wave and point, and smile some more. She loves riding in the back of the cart so she can play with all the stuff. We have a lot of fun trips planned for this summer..and I am so excited to have her with us!

9 Months Old!

Wow..9 months have flown by. I can't believe my little peanut is 9 months old! I can't believe how much I love that little person. No one could have ever prepared me or explained to me that kind of love. Sophie is so much fun. She is so happy and active. She is very easy going. She is just a peanut in the 9th percentile. Here are some fun things about our little squirt at 9 months old..

~loves standing up on anything sturdy enough
~walks all over the place with her walker
~scrunches her nose when she smiles or pulls faces at you
~professional stair climber
~always chattering
~starting to throw things
~always saying 'mama'
~loves banging on things to make noise
~major food lover
There are so many more wonderful things about my sweet baby daughter..but that would take all night to write and read.

My husband is the most wonderful daddy I could have ever wished for, and husband for that matter. That wonderful man works harder than anyone I know. He is always doing projects for me (trust me, there are many), and he never complains. He changes diapers, gets up with Soph so I can sleep in some days, makes bottles and meals for her, plays with Sophie as long as she wants to. I feel so blessed to have such a perfect family. Perfect might be a strong word, we have those days where we all need a nap, or we're cranky (mostly me), or we're worn out and lazy..but for me, I have the absolute perfect family. I couldn't have prayed for more. Yeah, yeah I'm getting mushy, I guess it's time to wrap it up. Love my beautiful daughter and sexy husband with all that I am!!

Sophie's First Christmas!!

It is so much fun having a kid for Christmas. I know she didn't understand what was going on, but it was so much fun spoiling her, and watching her open presents (even though I pretty much unwrapped them all). Clint had to work, so we didn't open presents until about 8 at night. It didn't feel like Christmas for the first part of the day, because part of my family was missing (not the first time either). But later in the evening, me and Sophie went over to her Grandma and Grandpa Summers, then to my Grandma and Grandpa's house, to say hi. It started to feel more like Christmas. Then at 7:30 Clint got home..Merry Christmas to us! Sophie was napping, so Clint, my mom, my dad, and I opened our stockings. Then Clint couldn't wait anymore, so he went and got Sophie up. She loved all of the bows and pretty paper. She got a little overwhelmed with all of us takin pictures, and saying her name, and all of the presents. But she love it. She wanted to play with each toy when it was opened. But her favorite present was the sippy cup she got in her stocking..who knew :). It was a great Christmas! Sophie made it so much fun!

Spending Time

Instead of trying to catch up on the past 3 months, I am just going to start fresh now. We are so in love with our little peanut! Sophie is just the best present we could have ever asked for. I feel so blessed to be her mom. She is the easiest going, most happy baby ever. She loves it when her dad gets home from work. She will sit on his lap and watch what he is doing as long as we will let her. I feel so blessed to be able to stay at home with my baby. I have so much fun hanging out with her all day. And Clint is the best dad in the whole world. He is always kissing ad hugging her, not to mention holding her upside down by one leg and throwing her in the air. She absolutely loves him :). She loves rolling over and being able to move around a little bit more. Recently, we went in to check on her before we went to bed, and found her with her little bum in the air..so cute! Every morning since then, whenever I go to get her up she is on her belly with her bum in the air. :)

3 Months Old

I can't even believe that my little peanut is 3 months old. I feel like she is so little, then I look back at pictures when she was born, and she is so big now! Where does the time go. She is so much fun!
Here are some of the things she does as a 3 month old:

*Sucks her thumb, and her fingers
*Loves standing up
*Giggled for the first time
*Constantly smiles
*Sleeps through the night!
*Loves sitting up (with help)
*Always making noises and 'talking'

I could never have imagined how amazing it is to be a mom. I love watching Clint be her dad, he is so wonderful at it, and she loves him so much!

Cancer Walk

One of our friend's little girls, Brinley, was diagnosed with cancer a week after her second birthday. She fought long and hard, and has beat cancer. CureSearch does a cancer walk every year to raise money for research to try and end childhood cancer. Though Brinley beat it, there are many children who aren't as lucky. We wanted to support Brinley and her family. Along with all of those other families with children who have lost their battle with cancer, who are fighting cancer, and who have beat it. Clint, my mom, Sophie, and I went to the CureSearch walk this year. It was really emotional and touching. I feel like there is so much more we could all be doing. Nothing about this disease is fair, espcially tiny children having to go through this. During the program before the walk, the released white balloons for all of those angels who have lost their fight. We were so blessed to be a part of this experience.

Thumb Sucker

Sophie has now mastered the art of sucking her thumb. At first she would put her thumb in her mouth and her ingers would cover her whole face. Then she figured out how to bend her fingers a little, but would poke her eyes. Then the other day I went to get her up for the day, and ta-da, she had figured it out. Now that is all she wants to do. She kept turning away from her food the other night to put her thumb in her mouth. She also loves shoving all of her fingers in her mouth at once. And sucking on her blanket or any loose clothing. She isn't too interested in toys yet. Also, she is talking so much lately, always making noise. And sleeping through the night, hallelujah!!nShe is so stinkin awesome, we can't get enough of her!!

Growing

Not a whole lot has gone on here lately. Sophie is now 10.5 weeks old. She is getting so big and smart every day. She smiles constantly, and is on the verge of laughing! She is such a happy and good baby. Every now and then we feed her with a bottle of pumped milk, and she has started putting her hands on the bottle like she is trying to hold it. Every time we go get her for the morning or get her up from her naps, she looks up at you and gives the biggest grins. It is the best thing ever! We love her so much and have so much fun with her. Clint likes to tease her already, so she is a very tolerant little girl.

Picnic Time

She is such a cheeser sometimes

Her new thing is standing up, and she loves it!

Already a daddy's girl. We have been wanting to have a picnic up the canyon since before I was pregnant, and we finally found time to. It was way fun, just the 3 of us.

Clint and Sophie were testing the water. It was so cute, when her toe would touch the water she would hurry and pull her foot up.

Chilled Out

We had a busy, fun day today. We were outside a lot, and when we got home Sophie was so hot and sweaty that I let her hangout in just her diaper. And boy does she love to be naked. I put a light blanket over her to make sure she didn't get too cold, and she kicked and kicked until it was all the way off of her. She is such a chill and active baby (if that is possible). She only gets cranky when she gets hungry. She is so awesome, we love her so much!!!

New Buds

Well it has been a while since I have blogged, but I figure now I have something more to blog about, I want to take another go at it. We got Rooster the week after we found out we were pregnant, and ever since then I have wondered how they would be together. Sophie is finally big enough for me to feel ok with Rooster licking her and being all hairy around her. The other night we took her outside to see how he would react to her. To our wonderful surprise he was very careful and she loved being outside! I think that as they get older they will be best buds!

Blackout!

Last night someone in Arizona cut a main power line, downing the power for all of southern California, the mexican border, and some of Arizona. Needless to say 1.4 million people were without power from about 4 p.m. until about 3 a.m. Also, our cell phones had little to no service all night. It turned out to be a way fun night though. Clint and I lit some candles and decided to camp out in the living room. Also, we had to come up with something for dinner. Lo and behold we have 5 boxes full of MRE's so I had an MRE for dinner and Clint had cereal to try to get rid of our milk (He has had way too many MRE's for a lifetime). It was my first time eating an MRE so it was really fun. Everything that came in my meal was veggie lasagna, applesauce, crackers and peanut butter, hazelnut hot chocolate, lemon poppyseed pound cake, and then stuff to season with. It was awesome to be able to have a hot meal in a blackout. We hungout and talked, watched FRIENDS on his ipod with chips and dip, and slept in the living room. It was a really fun night! Thankfully our power is on today..but it was fun to be disconnected from the world for the night.

Update

Wow it has been too long since I have posted something. Since Clint has been home we have just taken it easy. We have gone to Disneyland a couple times, once with Clay and Jeannette, and once with Shannon and Thomas. Jeannette and I planned a surprise for the boys. We didn't tell them that they were going to get to spend the weekend with eeach other at Disneyland. When they found out they were so excited..it was such a fun weekend! We also went home to Utah for leave. It was a blast! Clint's sister Jaimi got married, we went camping with my folks, and had a surprise party for Clint. It is always really sad to leave Utah. But come January we are there for good. Clint and I are having so much fun just hanging out with each other and making up for lost time. :)