sophie update

it's been a long time...too long really but i'm exhausted at the end of the day and just haven't had it in me to sit down and blog. sophie on the other hand is bursting with energy every day! this is a good thing but boy she can be exhausting! she's in to EVERYTHING! yes, everything. she pretty much can't be left alone because she finds something to get into. chewing on shoes is a favorite and cords. she loves cords. but she can't just chew on the nice rubber part (not that that is really okay either) but she likes the ends. matt and i like to call her are little electronic repair baby because she frequently plays with the modem and router for our computer as well as the cords under the computer desk.

sophie isn't crawling on hands and knees yet but doesn't need to because her army crawling gets her everywhere she needs to be, and fast! we try and get her to stay on the carpet but the minute we walk away, she's on the hardwood - headed to the shoes or food particles that molly's dropped under the table. sophie loves to play in molly's room so sometimes i'll stick her in there if in need a minute. i did that tonight so i could wash molly up after dinner and i went to check on her and she's gone! she made it through molly's room, down the hall, and into the bathroom. little stinker!

sophie's been sitting alone for quite awhile now and has really gained a lot of strength. she's trying so hard now to pull herself up into a sitting position but just isn't strong enough. these pictures were from about a month - month and a half ago when she first started sitting up.

sophie loves the cats and gets so excited when she sees them. she chases them, and often looses, but loves when she catches them! pulling fur and attempting to taste them are her favorite.

baby food is tickling sophies tastes buds as she tries new veggies and fruit. she likes veggies okay - preferring carrots, pumpkin, and squash over the green veggies. green beans are probably top on her list of greens with peas coming in last. fruit, well, lets just say we really haven't found one she doesn't like. applesauce wasn't her favorite but she did eat it. she now eats 2 ounces of veggies for lunch and dinner but can easily eat 3.5 ounces of fruit! here are pictures of her first veggie, sweet potatoes .

sophie babbles nonstop too. she says ma ma (seriously, and calls for me!) and da da, and a bunch of other random noises. she's into screaming when she's mad and loves to laugh at molly. making indian noises is still a favorite. now she pulls our hand to her mouth when she wants to do it!

speaking of calling for ma ma, she's a huge mama's girl! i can't leave her. anywhere. if she sees me while she's playing the living room, i'm done with whatever it is i was working on because she will scream and come find me, crying the whole way. oh, and sometimes pausing to chew on a shoe! we really need to find a better place to keep our shoes! i left her with my mom, sister, and grandma for an hour while i took molly to the doctor, she screamed the entire time. last week we made progress and she stayed with my parents while i went to a stampin' up party and did a bit better. she took a short nap, played for a bit, and then the crying set in. but she didn't scream the whole time! yay for progress! :) she's a little too much like her aunt anna was at this age. i just hope it doesn't last until she's 5!

molly continues to be one of sophie's favorite people. molly can usually make sophie happy in an instant by making a noise or talking to her. she loves to terrorize molly's toys and is constantly wrecking havoc on molly's toy set ups. she loves molly to come into her crib with her and "jump" (really it's just stepping) over her. this proves to be a great thing when i have to put groceries away - they're both out of my way!

it's really hard to believe that soph will be eight months in just a few weeks. it really doesn't seem possible. it's sad, really. i'm thankful her gross motor skills haven't progressed as quickly as molly's did - she still seems a bit more babyish! i'm not ready for her to grow up too much!

on your mark, get set, go

well, i've taken up running - if you can call it that. i'm pretty slow! i've never been a runner. even in high school when i used to run 2 miles every other day in the summer, i was at the back of the pack. and today, nothing's really changed. i even found out that my dad runs faster than me! now there's some motivation! :)

you may ask why i'm running if i loathe it so. well, it's like this. first, it's great exercise and gets my heart rate up in no time at all. second, it's the fastest way for me to shed these extra baby pounds, and finally, i really want to be a runner, i think!

i do enjoy some aspects of running like the fact that i generally think about nothing as i run and the sense of accomplishment when i'm finished. i do like to push myself to run a bit faster each time too. lately, that's been working. i run anywhere from 2-3.5 miles at a time. saturday, september 11th is my big debut - i'm running my first 5k with a group. my goal is to not come in last. i guess if i do though i must remember my initial words - i just want to run one. i don't care if i get last. i'm thinking i'll be able to do it a bit faster than my daily runs because it's on the high school track (extremely boring, yes) but there aren't any hills. my town is a hilly one, so it's great for practice, but i'm glad my first attempt will be on flat ground. plus, i get a t-shirt out of the deal. the whole reason to run, right?!

who knows, maybe one day i'll run a 1/2 marathon. probably not, but it's fun to think i will. but maybe i will, if i become a runner!

can i be transparent for a moment?

this is a big step for me - being transparent but i think it's important and will help hold me accountable for the things i'm about to type. plus, maybe some of you other moms have moments like these.

here's the situation. sophie just fell asleep. i asked molly to stay in the living room while i went to lay her down. this all stems from yesterday when she came bolting into sophie's room talking and getting toys off the shelf to play with while i laid her down. yesterday, sophie woke up and was grumpy. i did not want a repeat. so, what did molly do? yep, you guessed it - she followed me in talking and trying to take a toy out. fortunately, sophie did not wake up. molly, however, was on my last nerve because she didn't obey. i didn't react the way i should have. shoot, i probably could have woken sophie up too! anyway, molly laid down to take her nap and i came out to check my email.

i opened up a devotional from proverbs31ministry.org and it was all about being a mean mom or a kind mom. let's just say it was very convicting. God has a funny way of giving us what we need when we need it! the author of the devotional talked about how as moms it's easy to lash out when they're not being obedient. it gives us a bit of momentary satisfaction but it's not how Christ would have us respond. Christ gives us three rules - i won't say simple because they're not. however, they are necessary!

Matthew 16:24 says, "then Jesus said to His disciples, 'if anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

1. deny myself - "i have to look past the emotions begging to erupt and use self-control. i have to deny myself the momentary satisfaction of the quick comeback, the rude response, and full out yelling."

2. take up my cross - "stop blaming and pointing the finger wishing everyone else would change...see my sinful reaction as a negative contribution to the problem at hand. i must see my sin for what it is - sin. and truly want to do something about it."

3. follow Him - "follow who He is, and how He is. close my mouth, pause long enough to let Him interrupt my eruption and let His Spirit redirect. yes, my children need to be corrected but i can let the consequences scream so i don't have to!"

credit: lysa terkeurst proverbs31ministry.org 2010

good stuff, huh? it sure it home for me today. i must remember that no matter how frustrated i am or how tired i am, i must do these three things. only doing so will make me one step closer to becoming the woman described in proverbs 31.

cooking

molly made her first meal several weeks ago - pigs-in-a-blanket! she was a bit concerned at first that we were going to cook her blanket but once she understood the blanket was a buscuit, everything was okay!

5 months!

my little mouse is 5 months old! have i ever explained why i call her mouse? when she was first born she squeaked all the time and it reminded me of a little mouse. she doesn't squeak anymore but the name has stuck.

sophie is at such a fun age - she's full of discovery, curiosity, and determination. she rolls all over (therefore receiving another nickname of roly-poly) and likes to scoot in circles. Today she made it across the living room. she's determined to reach objects she can see - molly's toys are a favorite! paper is another thing she discovered. just the other day i caught her eating molly's magazine. Then, matt informed me that i must keep shiny magazines and newspaper ads away from her because they contain high levels of metal that can cause the brain not to develop at the appropriate pace. he can't even fee the stuff to his worms!

sophie loves to be tickled, talked to and played with. she does not enjoy being left alone - although sometimes she'll hang out in her exersaucer or on her gym for a brief moment so i can get something done. she's full of grins and loves to talk back to you. one of my favorite things is her indian noises. i'll i have to do is tap on her mouth and she starts up. I’ve tried to get video but she’s too focused on the camera to perform.

we started rice cereal. she wasn't too impressed at first but after a few days she loved it. now, i can’t give it to her fast enough! she will try oatmeal tomorrow. i love feeding her baby food- the looks on her face, blowing bubbles with a mouthful of food, trying to figure out the spoon – I love the world of discovery!

sophie's sleeping patterns vary but she's usually in bed between 9:30 and 10:30 and sleeps until about 5. then she needs a snack and goes back to bed until 7-8 or whenever molly wakes her up. she's a tummy sleeper and does a much better job falling asleep in her bed than molly did. she doesn't always put herself to sleep - i prefer holding her - i only get to do it when she's this little! but, she's very distracted and if she sees something, she comes out of her relaxed state and tries her best to get to it. So into the bed she goes sometimes.

some good news - we've cut her prevacid in half! acid reflux is improving and she's down to 1/2 a pill a day. sophie gets her little orange treat in between 1 and 2 pm and is good to go! she also nurses all the time! yay! i love that i get to nurse a baby! trouble is, she won't take a bottle. i give her a little bit of water in a bottle this morning to wash down her cereal and she didn't have a clue as to what to do with it. whoops...guess i need to work on that before i have to leave her again for an extended time period.

speaking of leaving her, i am so, so thankful that i don't have too. i still can't believe that i left molly and went to work for 40 hours a week when she was this little. makes me sick to my stomach to think about actually. i'm loving being at home all the time with my girls. God is good and has blessed our family with a job that allows us to support two children on one salary. it’s so much fun to just lay on the floor and play with her. She loves to hear me sing and was loving my rendition of old mcdonald had a farm today.

molly is one of her favorite people. she loves people, but molly is something special. monday evening molly was playing in her house and sophie was having a hay-day watching her. then, molly walked out of her house and sophie couldn't see her. she started crying pretty hard until she could see molly again. molly left again, sophie cried again! molly is usually a guarantee to make her happy – we just have to get molly to cooperate with us when we need her too!

my little mouse is growing up and i’m soaking in every minute of her being little. before i know it she’ll be running around the house and even worse, a teenager!

whistle while you work!

Proverbs 31:13 - “She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands.”

Hard work is the primary ingredient for success in most anything. Think about it – it’s true. If you didn’t work hard in school, your grades showed. If you didn’t work hard at sports, well, you may not have developed your full potential. This is especially true when running a home. It’s hard work to run a home! Men tend to think we’ve got it easy…wrong! I definitely think it’s easier to go to work and work a full day than to run a home. I’ve done it, well, I actually did both at the same time! And let me tell you, I’m more tired after a day of working in my home than I ever was after a day of teaching. I’m thankful to have a husband who knows and gets firsthand how hard it is to run a home. He did it for about 8 months and said to me that he would never complain if he came home and the house was a mess. You know, he hasn’t either! Whew! A bit of relief for me!

Not only is hard work important, but the way in which we do the work. We are to work diligently and cheerfully. This can be tough too, especially when it seems we’re doing the same thing over and over again. How many times have you rinsed out your husband’s cereal bowl that he left on the table after breakfast, or picked up his dirty clothes that were lying next to the laundry basket and placed them inside? Or, folded the numerous loads of laundry because your children either have an accident while potty training or a leaky diaper? Or maybe it’s doing the weekly grocery shopping. We all have something, right?

Consider the Jewish woman. She was responsible for making clothing for the family (thank goodness we have the opportunity to buy ours today!). Wool and flaxseed were the two basic elements needed for weaving. Just a side note – did you realize flaxseed was used for making clothes? I make muffins with mine! Anyway, back to the subject – she seeks these things with energy and enthusiasm. Can you imagine the mundane job of getting the wool, spinning it and whatever else you do to wool and picking flaxseed all before you can even make the clothes. It’s no wonder they didn’t have very many clothes back then!

Many women do the work at home because they have to. The woman who is beautiful in God’s eyes does it because she wants to and does it whole-heartedly. Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.” And do it joyfully! There’s the Disney song, Whistle While You Work!

I love Elizabeth George. Her insight on things is so practical and down to earth. She developed these attitude helpers to help her do work willingly and cheerfully.


1. Pray daily – pray for those you serve and yourself. Pray specifically about your attitude
toward work.

2. Recite scripture that require you to be joyous in your work. Ps. 118:24, “This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it!”

3. Do your work unto the Lord. Col. 3:23, “Whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord.”

4. Tackle tasks energetically (Neh. 2 example), creatively and joyfully. Thomas Kinkade writes this about being creative in his work when we worked at a gas station while he was an art student.

“The work was routine, the hours were inconvenient, the pay was minuscule. My surroundings were grimy, the clientele grumpy. And yet I still managed to have fun at that job. I observed an endless parade of humanity who came through the doors. I made up stories about them in my head and sketched them from memory. I played games with myself to see how quickly I could make change or reset the pumps. And I took pleasure in serving, in knowing I helped people get through their day.”

5. Take care of your body – rest, good food, exercise

6. Value each day

So what do you think? Do the attitude helpers help? I think so! I’m giving them a shot this week as I tackle my work!

George, E. Beautiful in God’s Eyes. ch. 6

mollyisms

rover = over



fairy mud godder = fairy godmother



ogurt = yogurt



yungin = onion