Sophie Saturday! (a day early)

We are not going to be home tomorrow, so Sophie Saturday is coming to you a day early! Yay!

This week's Sophie Saturday is brought to you by the makers of the full-length mirror.

Um, there's another baby in the room...

I think I will read the adorable baby a book.

Hey! How'd you get in there?

And, just in case the static photos weren't enough cuteness for you, I present video.

Observe the excitement! And the belly!

Mirrored Furniture

Hmm. I never considered covering furniture with mirrors. I like how the pieces almost disappear into the room. They are almost magical. It would probably be a hassle to keep them clean of fingerprints, but I do like them nonetheless.

Check out this mirrored chest with sink. Pretty.

More coveting

I would love, love, love to own this collection of 999 ultimate design classics. Love. Forever and ever.

In other news, I'm an online shopping junkie. However, I never actually buy anything (usually). Mostly, I just love shopping and filling my shopping carts with trinkets and lovelies and doo-dads and then I abandon them. I've abandoned shopping carts all over the world! I'm an abandoner! Because, see, I can't afford any of the beauties. Now that Sophie is in our lives, I'm filling carts will all the things I think she really, really must have to make her life complete. And I've discovered a lot of new design sites with lots of links to fantastic gorgeousness. If we ever win the lottery, our house will be bulging with ephemera and trinkets and preciousness and lots and lots of baking supplies. And shoes.

Bat-eating Centipede!

YIKES! It's 35 cm long (over 13 INCHES)! I don't have sound at work so Aaron is giving me the play-b-play:

Aaron
oooooh
you should watch it with sound
yuck
centipede 35 cm long
with the musclular strength of a small snake
and you can hear its legs going clickityclickityclickityclickity

Aaron
guh
gross
did you see the floor of the bat cave?

Erika
i had to stop watching

Aaron
it was crawling with all kinds of beetles and maggots
ick

Erika
it was giving me the oogies

Aaron
you gotta watch again.
with sound

Covetousness

Oh my goodness! How completely fantastic are these bags?!? With shipping, they'd be about $30. (hint. hint.)

My pimple is angry

It is pissed off. I have a rager of a zit on my face. Above my lip, but below my nose. If I look down at my nose I can see a red, angry volcano just pulsing away to its own angry metal concert. It's been leading me around the office and talking smack to people who dare acknowledge its presence. Concealer does nothing but piss it off more. Now it's also oozing because I poked it and I should really, honestly, have learned by now not to poke a sleeping giant.

Citizenship Test

Could you pass the US citizenship test? I scored 85% on the sample test.

Youngest Cartoonist?

No, not Sophie. Meet Alexa Kitchen. She started drawing recognizable images at age TWO. She's already published 4 comic books, starting when she was 5. I've seen a lot of drawings by 5-year olds and they don't look like this. Completely amazing.

(via Blogging Baby)

Clapping and Beebling and Crawling!

Man. No wonder Sophie hasn't been sleeping. She's been working on a lot in that brain of hers. This weekend she crawled and crawled and crawled. More importantly, she CRAWLED UP STAIRS at my parents' house. She knew exactly what to do - just lifted one knee after another and was out of the "Pit*" in seconds flat.

Getting back down the stairs was another story. We tried to turn her around and get her to go down backwards but this really pissed her off. So, it was head first with lots of people spotting.

She had a dueling beebling contest with her cousin (with whom Sophie is completely in love):

AND, drumroll please, she figured out how to CLAP HER HANDS! This is huge, people. One more leap we can cross of her list. We started the weekend with lots of arm flapping and maniacal waving and then, Ta Da! she woke up this morning clapping!

We also went to a local craft fair and it was hot, hot, hot and Sophie slept, slept, slept in our new Ergo carrier.

*We call my parents' sunken living room "The Pit".

Weekend

We are up at my parents' house this weekend. My older sister and her family are in town for the big Blue Angels air show. It is about 200% humidity around here. Not very hot, thankfully. I've got a pompadour from all the moisture.

I'll update more later.

Eight Months!

Another month flew by when I wasn't looking.

Sophie, you clever little monkey button. You learned to crawl. Army commando scooting? P'shaw! That's soooo last month, Mommy.

You have also figured out how to pull yourself up to a standing position and this has made your bedtime ritual run a bit longer than we'd like. "I'm so very, very tired, obviously, what with all the eye rubbing and whining and head thumping, but I still have so much STANDING to do!" "Sophie: are you asleep yet?!" "Umm....yes, Mommy, I'm asleep."

This month also saw the introduction of the hello wave. You wave at the kitties, at Mommy, at Daddy, at Edgar your elephant pillow, at the photos on the wall, at the cars driving by, at the jug of milk in the fridge, and etc. to infinity. It is a full arm thrust and then a slapping down on your leg motion.

There has also been much belly laughing. You and Daddy play a game like parachute with a blanket that involves lots of peek-a-boos and shrieking. I also discovered that you find it quite hysterical if I put a pacifier in my mouth (backwards) and poke you with the soft end.

You are funny, cuddly, snuggly, destructive, fearless and stubborn. We have yet to find a food you don't like and now I'm sure I've just jinxed it and you will only eat Cheerios. I've been adding a little bit of garlic powder to your veggies and a little bit of cinnamon to your fruits and you love the additional flavors. We've tried yogurts and carrots and spinach and apples and blueberries and squashes and dill pickles and Veggie Bootie and Cheerios (which just get mouthed and then delicately spit out) (picking up a soggy Cheerio when it does not look soggy and then it smooshes between my fingers is very, very unpleasant).

Thank you for returning the zerberts.

We love you more than we could have imagined.

Car? What car?

So, still no car. We called the dealership again last night to check in and they said that after fixing the O2 sensor, the 'check engine light' came back on once they drove it around the block. So, since we are buying this car used from a Chevy dealership, they are clueless about how to fix a Honda. They said they sent it to a Honda shop to be fixed. It turns out it is the 'balancer' or something like that. And that they can either fix that 'rattling' or replace the engine. Oy. Since the car is still in their possession and under warranty (thank you, Aaron), they have to fix it. They are working with the Honda shop to figure out the best solution. My first reaction was that if they have to replace the engine - that is pretty extreme and what kind of car are we buying, anyway? But Aaron's cooler head prevailed and said since the car is under warranty AND not in our possession AND the contract has 6/17 as a delivery date on which they have now defaulted, the control is on our side. They have to fix it. As it has not been delivered to us, and if we don't like what they've done, we can most likely get out of the contract. My shoulders are pinching up as I think about this. I talked to a few coworkers about it and they felt that a new engine is a good thing. It's like a new car with no wear. Assuming they put a new engine in and not a used/refurbished engine. Instead of having it delivered, we are going to test-drive it again at the dealership when it is fixed. It doesn't even feel like we bought a car at this point. It's all so gray and foggy and uncertain. Bleh. Oy. Ugh.

The target date at this point is next Friday. I mean, we're not in a rush, but I don't like the uncertainty. What, exactly, are we buying?

In other news, it's Sophie's 8-month 'birthday'. I forgot to upload photos yesterday, so I'll do the post tonight after work. A preview of the post: she's super cute.

Blah, blah, blah

The car was not delivered yesterday. They promised it would be delivered mid-day today...

Exercising has not been going so well this week. The massive heat on Sunday hit us like we were flies saying: "Oooh, look a that pretty windshield!" And Monday we were still hot and recovering and thinking we might have to drive to pick up the car and then yesterday I got home and Sophie was just waking up from a nap and it was far too easy to say: "Screw it, there is no way I'm strapping her into a stroller to go running." And so last night Aaron & I, while sitting in front of the computer eating Newman's chocolate cookies watching 'Syriana', shook hands that we would go running tomorrow, definitely. But then we remembered that we have an appointment to see another daycare provider today after work and the car is supposed to be delivered and, and, and... I've been wearing the pedometer and apparently I walk very little around work because I've been averaging about 2K steps by the time I get home from work. Also, Sophie is FASCINATED with the pedometer and she keeps pulling it off me and chewing on it. So I keep forgetting to put it back on after we've been playing. And if I do remember, it is covered in baby spittle and baby spittle dripping down your leg is not the most pleasant feeling in the world.

In other news, Sophie is waving to us. It's a full-fledged arm wave, straight up in the air. Usually accompanied by "Dah!" or "Buh!". She also gave me a real zerbert on my leg on Monday and we all laughed and laughed.

100 Awesome Music Videos

Just so I remember this link and waste lots of time at home. 100 Awesome Music Videos.

Daddle

I know what I'm getting someone for his birthday. (via blogging baby)

The Deliverance

The car is going to be delivered today. Yay! We don't have to drive to get it. It doesn't seem real yet.

In other news, I'm feeling quite bloated today. It may be the 4000% humidity or it may be because it might finally be that time of the month. May I tell you a secret, oh lovely internets? We're bordering on the TMI threshold here, so please stop reading if you are easily, um, offended? grossed out? I haven't had my period since I had Sophie. We're going on 8 months now, people. My friend A thinks it is because I was "pumping a gallon of milk a day". But I've been feeling bloated and slightly bitchy (shh, don't tell Aaron) (even though he's going to say - "Umh, yeah, you ARE bitchy") and crampy and I ate an entire bag of dark chocolate-covered pretzels over the last two days.

It was so humid last night that we were all sleeping in pools of our sweat. I rolled Sophie towards the middle of our bed at one point and there was a perfect Sophie sweat mark on the bed, complete with arms and legs. Mmmm, sweat.

I'm MELLLLLLLTING!

It's 90 degrees out with about 70% humidity. It is so hazy that the streetlights are on. I think I may skip the extra walk after work today. The downstairs of the house is actually fairly cool but the upstairs is like pergatory. When I went home for lunch, Otto was a big puddle of fur under Sophie's crib. Why he doesn't just go downstairs and lay on the marble floor tiles, I don't know. Of course, I've never claimed he was a brainiac.

We are also waiting for the dealership to call and tell us the car is ready for picking up. They had to do a final safety inspection and the passenger mirror needed replacing. We're both hoping that it isn't ready today because they said they'd deliver it all the way up here if they missed today's deadline. Which would be fabulous because there are predictions of massive thunderstorms (with HAIL and BRIMSTONE) by the time I get off work and, also, the dealership is about an hour drive from here. So two hours in the car with a little cranky girl is not tops on my list at the moment.

Death is waving its bony hand at the battery on my pedometer and I made a special trip to the grocery store to pick up another one along with other groceries and I remembered cookies and chocolate and muffins but no battery. I'm taking all of this as a sign that it's not in the cards to go for a walk after work.

Yeeks!

Another reason not to go swimming in the ocean. Giant Squid! (link via Internet Rockstar)

"There is an alien intelligence residing deep within the Monterey Bay, a bizarre life form that appears to be proliferating by the thousands in cold black waters far below the surface. It resides within creatures that have three hearts, primate-like stereoscopic eyes, blue blood and brains large enough to suggest they are among the smartest creatures on earth. They are giant raptorial predators with a taste for flesh. Growing up to seven feet long and occasionally bigger—possibly much bigger—these carnivores seize their prey with two lightning-fast, hook-laden tentacle clubs, draw it into a squirming nest of eight arms and proceed to tear chunks of flesh from its body with a disproportionately large, razor-sharp, parrot-like beak."

Happy Father's Day!

To my lovely hubby: after watching you play tirelessly with our niece and nephews (like the hour-long pillow fights and the wrestling and then patiently sitting at my sister's kitchen table while our niece painted your fingernails pink) and watching your face light up with any news of them, I knew you were going to be a great dad. And after witnessing your silly songs for the cats and how you were the very definition of empathy when anything happened to them, I knew you were going to be the perfect father.

But none of that prepared me for the wonder that is you and Sophie. The way your heart literally melted when you first said, in complete awe: "Hi Sophia", and she turned and looked at you for the very first time. And how your heart is still melting with each of her accomplishments. Like her first smile and her first zerbert and her first raspberry and her big farts and her big burps. And how now she's crawling and standing and pulling herself up on things and you can't stop saying how you are so proud of her. And how you whisper, conspiratorially, that you think she is really smart. The look of awe is still there and it is a look of complete and utter head-over-heels love.

You are the perfect father for Sophie. She is so very lucky.

I love you.

New(ish) Car!

Well, we are now a two car family. We've signed the papers and handed over the deposit and are now proud owners of a silver 2001 Honda CR-V. We will be picking it up on Monday, so I'll have photos then. It's exciting and nerve-wracking. We definitely needed two cars not only because of the driving that is going to happen once Aaron starts school again and Sophie goes into daycare, but also because the 2-door Civic just was not cutting it with the baby seat in back. This will hopefully help our sore backs. I think we ended up being at the dealership over 2 hours and Sophie was a champ. But the long car rides were exhausting (the dealership was about an hour away) and it's starting to heat up and because of one or the other she fell asleep at 5:15 tonight. She woke up once but now she's back asleep again. As Aaron said, she'll probably be wide awake at 3 in the morning because of it.

Ah well. (yee! a new car!)

Oh yeah, and the batteries died on my camera and they are now recharging. Sophie photos will be posted at some point.

Exercise update

Okay, here's the recap for the work week:

Sunday:
6654 steps, 3.79 miles, 289 calories

Monday:
9125 steps, 4.84 miles, 396 calories

Tuesday:
7785 steps, 4.05 miles, 338 calories
(ran ~1 mile)

Wednesday:
2398 steps, 1.11 miles, 104 calories
(raining; Sophie played with pedometer for a while and I forgot to put back on)

Thursday:
10101 steps, 5.54 miles, 439 calories
(ran ~1mile)

Friday:
10796 steps, 5.85 miles, 469 calories

Not too shabby.

The averages:
7809 steps, 4.20 miles, 322 calories

Obviously, the rain on Wednesday screwed up the average.

Westmoreland is an idiot

Check out Representative Lynn Westmoreland from Georgia on The Colbert Report.

I hope his opponents use this footage against him.

Weekend

I'm very happy it's Friday. This has been the week of exercise and I've been holding to the plan pretty well. I've gotten close-ish to 10K steps a day and I did run a mile on both Tuesday and Thursday. I'll post the results from the week tonight at some point. I still need to get consistent with the 10K steps. Although my mom mentioned that to LOSE weight, one should aim for 18K steps a day. Yeesh! I am realizing that I'm not walking as much as I thought around work. That's something I need to work on so that when I get home I don't have to do millions of circles around the neighborhood to make the 10K goal.

Tomorrow we have an appointment to check out a used 2001 CR-V. We're going to a wholesale dealership that is about an hour away. Hopefully we'll like it and be able to drive it home. We're taking Sophie so that we can test out installing the car seat and her before deciding anything. My brother has the same car. He's tall, like Aaron, and he loves the legroom in his CR-V. It will be nice to have another option other than our little 2-door Civic. Have you ever tried to get a wiggly baby out of the back of a 2-door car? Yeah, it's not easy. Luckily, she's pretty flexible and can be folded easily.

I also need to get to JoAnn's Fabrics and/or Michael's to get a few more craft things for the July craft swap. This month is baby blue or aqua and chocolate brown. I have already collected some things, but I realized I don't have blue or brown paint. We are also overdue for a trip to Trader Joe's.

Oh yeah, and we need to get some more cedar shavings mulching done in the garden and I need to take photos. The peonies are past their prime as are most of the irises. I've been remiss in my photo-taking this year.

It's going to be a scorcher this weekend. 95° on Sunday! With probably 100% humidity.

Hilarious!

OMG, this had me crying with laughter. (thx K)

Thursday

Sophie is a little crawling maniac now. Our legs are mere speedbumps on her quest for that toy, no THAT toy, no this toy, no that speck, no that...KITTY!...toy. Lots of shrieking laughter and giggles. There is so much joy in her shrieks that it just kills us. I came home and snuck into the living room yesterday after work. Because I heard the shrieking and the jabbering. And I found her facing Aaron on the floor and he kept flinging a blanket over her head and then pulling it up quickly. SHRIEK!!! I watched from a distance, trying not to let her hear my laughing. And then Aaron saw me and said: "Hmm, I think Mommy is watching." and she turned around and yelled and starting waving her hands with a huge grin on her face. It was an utterly fantastic moment in time.

She also gets quite cranky because it seems like she is trying to transition herself from three naps during the day to two. She actually was asleep last night by 6:30 because she skipped her later nap. Which she might have taken if I had been able to walk with her in the stroller but it was raining with imminent thunderstorms so I did not. We played with blocks and rings and cats and squeaky eggs and the elephant stuffed pillow/rug thing until it was time for bed.

In other news, I didn't pump at work yesterday. I have gone from pumping three times a day to pumping twice a day and, lately, down to pumping once in the morning. I have a huge amount of milk stored in the freezer (three drawers are full and it keeps for 3 months in the kind of freezer we have) and she is drinking only one bottle a day with Aaron. She still nurses at night and sometimes during the day on weekends. But I'm feeling like I don't need to keep the huge storage of milk going. The pump is still here, but I'm going to try and phase it out a bit.

Exercise

We did go running yesterday after work. It was hot. Sophie napped in the jogging stroller. I made it to about 3/4 of a mile and then was wheezing and short of breath. So I walked a bit with the stroller while Aaron ran ahead. And then I ran a bit more to finish out the mile. I'm so out of shape. I can walk, walk, walk with the best of them but I loathe running.

This morning? I walked through a spider's web on the way out to the car. That's pretty much a terrible feeling. And now I feel like I'm crawling with bugs.

Sophie was a jibbering/jabbering fool yesterday. Non-stop all day. She's become a lot more confident with the crawling and she seems pretty pleased with herself.

Yesterday I giggled myself silly reading the birth stories of three very funny women. (Jen and Gretchen and Stace - please don't click on those links)

Just to give you a sampling:

"When we got to Brooklyn, I found that I could no longer walk. I had to wait for the few seconds that the contractions would die down to a manageable level to scuttle, crab-like, on all fours until another contraction came, at which point I'd lie down on the cool pavement and wish for death."

I was bad-ass. Bad-ass! These hips are made for birthin' and that's just what they'll do, one of these days these hips ARE GONNA BIRTH ALL OVER YOU."

Taking Photos of Kids

Very cool idea to help take photos of kids. I know Sophie is more interested in the lens cap and one of us needs to stand behind the one with the camera to keep her interest. We might just have to try this.

The commentary after the suggestion is quite funny. In a nerdy photographer kind of way.

Another cool photo idea along not-so-similar lines: make a timeline of your family in photos. I think I also heard about this from [N] way back in time. And I thought it was every month and then I didn't do it and felt guilty and then thought about it again when Snopher was 6 months and then didn't do it and then felt guilty. What a relief to find the site again and realize they did it every year. So, I'll try and start it up when she turns a year. Or maybe I'll do it on our wedding anniversary every year. That way I won't forget and maybe I can use the photos for Holiday cards.

Ding, Fries are Done!

For [N]: Ding, fries are done!

We heard this driving up from L.A. to Willits a couple of years ago. It was a long drive. We were in tears.

Although, I kept thinking he sings: "Ding, PIES are done!" So I kept saying that all Thanksgiving weekend every time the timer went off. In fact, until I looked it up this morning, that's what I thought he sang. Ah well.

Lord of the Rings

HA! This made me giggle this morning. (thx, [N]!)

Ch-ch-ch-changes

We finally watched 'Super Size Me' this weekend. I'm not sure why it took so long, because I heard it was really good. Frightening and disgusting, but good. We don't really eat a lot of fast food at all. Aaron more than me, mostly for the convenience. But it was a good wake-up call in terms of not eating the healthiest meals all the time. And getting more exercise. So, more salads and balanced meals (which I've been doing but Aaron has not), significantly reduced fast food (e.g., McDonalds, not my lovely turkey burgers from the local drive-in) and more exercise. Personally, I'm going to be wearing a pedometer for the next couple of weeks to keep an eye on how much walking around I do at work and during the day. I went on a 3.5 mile walk with Sophie yesterday and now I aim to walk at least 10K steps a day. The average person walks about 5K a day, so I should be ahead of the game. I'm going to keep a log of this as well. And if I get home from work and I'm not near the 10K total? It's time for a longer walk with Sophie and Aaron.

Also, we are going to attempt to do the Tuesday/Thursday morning run again.

In other news, there is a foreign package waiting for me at the post office! It must be the June swap!

Sophie Saturday

We were on a playdate with our nephew today. And Aaron and I managed to squeeze in some much-needed haircuts. The playdate was fun; they were quite impressed with Sophie's crawling. And her cousin seemed slightly less scared of her this time.

I have two comparison videos for you. They are both from yesterday. Yesterday morning, Sophie crawled across the room on her hands and knees. Huge development, I know! And then I got home from work and Aaron headed out to play games and she and I were up in her room again. But this time, she kept commando creeping across the floor.

Observe:

I realized her socks and pants were impeding the crawling because she couldn't get traction with her toes (she is like a monkey with their dexterity) and the pants kept getting caught on her feet. So I pulled them off and then she started crawling again. Here's proof (watch for the crawling at the end):

TGIF

Even though I've had a short work week, it feels like it took a month to push my way through. Lots of deadline-specific projects at work as well as just being a little overtired at home.

Sophie's been waking up every hour or so when she's in the crib. I think we need to get some sort of sound blocker in that room because it's right above the street. And while we don't get a lot of traffic and you can mostly just hear the birds chirping and the occasional squirrel scolding someone, cars do go by. Whether that is what is waking her up or something else, I don't know. Any recommendations? I was thinking a noisier air purifier to kill two birdies with one HEPA stone, but maybe all I need is just a white noise machine.

We *were* going to set the air conditioner up in that room as it is both noisy and cooling, but this is an old house and the second floor's electricity is, um, lacking. The A/C box has a 3-pronged power cord and the room's outlets are all 2-pronged. We could put an adaptor in there, but that isn't exactly fire safe. So, other options need to be considered. We also have a noisy window fan that could be put in there. It just needs to be brought down from the attic.

In other news, SOPHIE CRAWLED ACROSS THE ROOM ON HER HANDS AND KNEES this morning!!!?!! She's only accidentally moved a knee forward up until this point and now she just worked her way across the room! The army crawl was non-existent! She's been quite active with the pulling up on things and crawling over things but I was not prepared for the crawl across the room. Maybe that is why she has been so restless at night - she's been thinking about this for a while.

In other less momentous news, I'm getting my very shaggy hair cut tomorrow. I'm still in the "I have very long hair" mode and keep forgetting that I actually need to get my hair cut now. It's grown out all crazy and it needs to be taken down a notch. Or three.

We have a playdate tomorrow with Sophie's cousin, a tentative appointment to look at a used Honda CR-V and a month's worth of laundry to try and tackle in two days.

And just to make this a really long entry, we met with a daycare provider yesterday who has 6 children of her own. She was very nice and has a huge house with lots of things for kids to do. And she feeds the kids whole grain and healthy snacks and teaches them sign language. Unfortunately, she just filled her last open spot. 2 days before our appointment. Ugh. She did give us a list of other providers, friends of hers, so if I have time today, I'll start calling.

Please send some "Stop Frickin' Raining!" vibes for the weekend. Thanks.

Mayonnaise

A funny story about being called a princess:

A little background: my younger sister and I used to fight all the time when we were younger. We were very different and it probably didn't help that we shared a room. Also? She was annoying and she yelled at me in her sleep. And there may have been teeth grating. And she found my diary and wrote all over it in black magic marker because most of it was about her and how annoying she was. She was into sports; I was into plays. She hated dresses; I loved them. We were like oil and water. And then I went away to Denmark for a year in high school and suddenly she was the only one home with our parents. That time away changed our relationship and when I returned, we were friends. And we've been friends ever since. Aaron can tell when I'm on the phone with her because the entire conversation is hysterical laughing.

Anyhoo, the story: she and her husband lived in Idaho for a while while she got her Master's Degree in Biology. And Aaron and I flew out at one point to visit them.

And somehow the conversation ended up on how much of a pain in the ass I was as a kid. And how prissy and dramatic I was. And she made some statement about how I always put mayonnaise on all my bruises like a little drama queen. I was indignant - I *NEVER* put mayonnaise on my bruises; that would be crazy. And she kept insisting: "Yes, you did! I remember clearly! On every bruise!" We went back and forth like this for several minutes - it was getting heated at this point. What kind of revisionist history was she creating in her crazy head?! I was a weird kid, but that is just insane! Clearly no one would put mayonnaise on their bruises!

I finally realized that I misunderstood her and she had actually said that I put "BAND-AIDS" on my bruises, not "Mayonnaise".

The argument immediately dissolved into completely hysterical laughing because, oh yeah, I did THAT.

Aaron and her husband were just standing in the corner in shock with the sudden realization that they were involved with lunatics.

Art with Mentos

Very cool fountain art utilizing Diet Coke and Mentos.

This reminds me a little bit of the Blue Man Group.

(via npr and my lovely sister)

Piloh Shitt

Ha ha ha ha! This made me laugh out loud. From Popbitch:

(FYI: Poor baby, how long will it be at school before Shiloh Pitt gets nicknamed Piloh Shitt?)

Princess

I keep wondering why it bothers me so much that people call Sophie a little princess because generally I can let things slide and move on. Aaron and I are her parents and we are doing what we think is best for her and for us.

But then "princess" is brought into the conversation and my hair stands on end. I guess it's the word "princess" in general that is striking a nerve with me. When I was younger, I was the little girl who wore dresses and necklaces and ruffles. I don't remember a lot about my childhood, but I have seen pictures and I've been told stories. I was called a princess and a drama queen by my family. Maybe it was because I was not into sports and not into working on my grandparents' farm and into plays instead. And that I put Band-aids on my bruises.

When I got a little older, I hated being called a princess and I hated being called a drama queen. I went from wearing ruffles and necklaces to wearing all black and combat boots and shaving my head. Yes, I'm sure the label was warranted at one point. But I feel I'm very far removed from the child who wore necklaces and ruffles and wore Band-Aids on all her bruises. I'll never live that down. None of my friends see me like that because I'm not that little girl anymore and I haven't been her for a very long time.

I don't want Sophie packaged and labeled like that. She is far from a princess in my mind. She is strong and fearless so far and I hope she stays that way. I was going to write that she is a little destructor monkey, but I don't want her labeled as that, either. It will be fun to experience her opinions and her exploration of self. And we will hopefully not box her into a false image. Maybe I'm hung up on this because the meaning of the word "princess" has been tainted for me. I can't remove it from an image of being spoiled because that is how it was used against me.

See? Nerve touched.

CIO

I'm not a fan of CIO (crying it out). My heart breaks when I hear Sophie crying. And to willfully let her cry in order to "teach" her to sleep just seems cruel.

But some people swear by it and they say that after just a few nights, their babies went to sleep with no issues. Now my absolute favorite parenting advisor on the web has written a fantastic article on CIO. And how some babies are tension releasers when they cry. And others (definitely Sophie) are tension increasers. Go now and read Moxie's article.

Sophie will cry and cry and start hyperventilating if we try to leave her in her crib while she's still awake. We were thinking it was teething or separation anxiety or 'just something she's going through'. She needs to be asleep or very very drowsy before we can put her in there. Otherwise it is heartbreaking.

Can we all now agree that all babies are different? And that what works for one may be the wrong thing for another? And that my daughter is not a princess for needing us to help her sleep peacefully? Alrighty then.

Image of the day!

The loves of my life are the Image of the Day on Blogging Baby!

Ode to the dill pickle

She alternately mouthed and talked to the dill pickle(s) (she kept dropping them and then we'd have to hurry and hand over the other pickles on our plates) during our lunch at a local brew pub. She'd put it in her mouth, take it out, make an awful face and then put it back in her mouth. And then she'd hold it out and make grand gestures and talk to it as though she was reciting an ode to the precious, precious pickle.

Friendship

Well, Julie is leaving today and it makes us all a bit sad. It's been a couple of years since we've seen her but, as soon as she was here and standing in front of us with that smile that lights up any room, it felt like it had been hours instead. (ooh, bad grammar). Julie is one of those extremely generous and loving friends who is so completely hilarious and devious and fabulous that you feel lucky and special that she calls you a friend. And she has a very dark sense of humor and she and I tend to team up on Aaron and torture him and I love torturing Aaron. (Don't worry, he loves the attention)

She and Sophie became fast friends and the weekend was all about playing with Sophie and smiling at Sophie and laughing at the good old times and tormenting Aaron and playing Aaron's new game, Caylus, over and over again until at least one of us beat him (I did, finally).

Sorry no photos yet. It's been a bit busy. We've been staying up 'til past midnight and then taking power naps (us) and sleeping in (Julie). I've taken today off so that I can stay home with Sophie while Aaron drives Julie to Boston.

Smooches.

Weekend

A friend from CA is visiting us this weekend. This will be the first time she's seen Sophie. It should be a lot of fun. Her brother (the best man at our wedding) and sister-in-law just had their first baby, so we can't wait to see more photos. We've been cleaning as much as we can in the 90% humidity. Ugh. It is pretty awful. The hard part is that Sophie is having more trouble falling asleep at night. The good part is that once she finally succumbs, she is out for a lot longer than normal. The heat is exhausting for all of us.

I will try to have some photos tomorrow, but if I don't - you will understand, won't you?

I finally sent my June Color-iffic Swap-o-rama package yesterday. The theme this time was black, white and a color of our choice. I chose red. It's headed off to parts unknown.

Fancy Photo Cake

I finally uploaded the photos of the fancy photo cake. I created an 11" x 17" design and uploaded it to Icing Images.

They generally take about 2 weeks in total to print and ship the image, but I waited too long and had to rush it. The images on the design are a bit of an inside joke. They print it on a thin layer of icing material and then it arrives on a backing and in a plastic bag. You peel the icing layer off the backing and apply to fresh icing on your cake. They recommend putting it on white or light frosting as chocolate icing may make the design lose color.

Click on that image for the whole set.