More Photo Shoot Pictures

Thanks Great-Grandpa Jim & Great-Grandma Bev for my cute flower shirt to wear for these photos!

12 3/4 months!

Since I missed our 12 month post, at this point, we'll just call it what it is....12 3/4 (almost 13!) months. :) I do want this month documented though as the 1st Bday is a big milestone in development!

I feel like the past 2 months, Sophia has exploded in her gross motor skills and communication. In the past 2 months, she has gone from sitting up and minimal rolling over to pulling up, cruising, standing with no hands, dancing on her own, climbing and walking with assistance! Our girl is on the move! Over the weekend, she walked pushing the little baby-walker ON HER OWN! big stuff people! She is so proud of herself and loves the cheering she gets from Mom and Dad!! We couldn't be prouder either! :) I took a little video to show her new mad skills off which I will post soon!

Ok, 12 Month Stats:

Weight - 21 lbs 12 oz - 56%

Height - 30 1/2 inches - 84%

Head - 45cm - 43%

Eating: She continues to be our good eater most days. Like most pre-toddlers (still getting used to not saying BABY!) some days she scarfs food like she is starving, other days, she plays more than eats and doesn't really seem too interested. She seems to really ENJOY eating though and makes a "YuMMMMMM" sound for food and while eating. She knows the sign for eat as well and signs MORE for almost everything these days. This month, she added "drink" and really got "please" down as well. When she signs "please", I don't care what she is asking for, my heart melts! Sweetest thing ever with those big, brown eyes looking up at me!

Her absolutely favorite foods right now are: pasta with tomato sauce, citrus fruits (even fresh lemon/lime believe it or not!), peas, frozen blueberries, avocado, and cheese. Other foods she really likes: crackers, cottage cheese, raisins, beans, potatoes, broccoli, and of course anything SWEET (which she has only gotten little, LITTLE of...I mean, I'm talking diluted juice being big stuff around here)

*she is "talking on the phone" in the pic below....it is soooo cute! She will use my actual phone, puzzle pieces, crackers, or as a last resort, her hand, to pretend to be on the phone. most of the time, she is talking to "dada"*

Sleeping: She still takes two naps (usually around 8:30-9am and 1 pm) and goes down at 7 pm for the night. She still has night wakings at least once or twice, most of the time I nurse her, but sometimes just rock for a bit and back down. At her 12 month check up, the Dr. reminded me that she does not need to eat at night and the longer we continue this night waking habit, the more cemented it will become as we continue into her 2nd year. She talked about methods and it boils down to sleep training like we did when she was 6 weeks. Let her work it out on her own, check on her every 15 min to ensure that she isn't sitting in wet pjs, dirty diaper, her leg isn't caught in crib rails, etc. SIGH. I'm not really thrilled about doing this, but I do believe it is best for her sleep wise. I'm going to wait until mid-march when we get back from our trip to Seattle. I don't want to put us through a few rough nights only to experience travel, jet lag, being away from home which always throws a kink into her sleep patterns anyway. Over all, though, she sleeps wonderfully other than being on the light sleeper end. She must get that from Eric. :)

Clothing: She is wearing 18 month clothing and some 18-24 month pants to fit her long legs! Her feet are size 4 but she really does NOT like to have shoes on so until she is walking outside, we aren't really worrying about trying to keep them on. She is cruising and pulling up fine just wearing socks. :)

Teething: YES. 1 bottom molar in and another cutting through....

Our typical day:

6:30-7 am wake up, nurse, get dressed

7:30 am breakfast while Daddy eats his and Mama makes his lunch

8-9 am play time, read books

9-10:30 am nap

11 am nurse, diaper change, errands, visit a friend, lunch with Molly, church, usually "on the go" this time of day

12:30 pm lunch, independent play

1:30-3 pm nap (it is usually 1 1/2 hr - 2 hrs long)

3 pm nurse, diaper change

3:30-5 pm grocery shop, walks outside, playing in her room while I clean the house/fold laundry, etc

5 pm snack while Mom prepares dinner

5:30-6 pm Daddy's home!!! really gives her a second wind when he gets home

6 pm family dinner

6:30 pm bath time, reading, bed time routine

7 pm nurse and put in bed!

Sophia, sweetheart, you are pure infectious JOY in our day! Daddy enjoys dancing to music with you in the living room, playing guitar for you, and our family breakfasts on Saturday at Chickie-Fil-A! I enjoy your wet kisses and playing "Mama's gonna get you!" game together while your laughter is heard through the whole house. We both love your hugs and cuddles, knowing this precious time with you is such a gift!

First Bloody Nose!

Sophia got her first bloody nose this week! She was cruising along the furniture in our living room, lost her footing/slipped, and went face first down onto the hardwood floor. There were some tears, but she is a tough girl and recovered quickly with some cuddles from Mama & Daddy. I noticed immediately the stream of blood coming out of her nose, so I cleaned her up with a warm, wet washcloth. It's kind-of crazy to me that she got her first bloody nose at 12 months (since she is generally very cautious) but as you can see from the pictures, she was smiling and our happy girl again bloody nose and all!

Winning the Lottery!

I feel like I won the lottery today....I booked my flight to Seattle to visit sweet little Juliet and I leave in 2 short weeks! Sophia is coming with me, so my prayers for a smooth travel experience have already begun! I used Eric's frequent flyer miles from his trips to India - they sure came in handy! We have really been blessed with frequent flyer miles; I feel like we do more flying on FREE tickets than on PAYING tickets. I am so grateful!
AND I found out tonight that MARIA is coming to visit me like TOMORROW!!! She flies in on Wednesday and I am sooooooooo excited!!!!!!!!!!! She is here until Friday late afternoon so we get like 2 1/2 days together! This is the best week!
Within 2 weeks I get to see Maria and Katie which just thrills me to no end. :) Ahhhhhh happy.

1-Year Photo Shoot!

We had pictures taken yesterday as a family (although Sophia was of course the STAR!) by a friend and very talented photographer, Jennifer R. She did a great job and I am so happy to have this special segment of Sophia's life documented. My baby is growing up too fast! (http://www.jrcenturyphotography.blogspot.com/ )

Here are the two previews we've seen so far...I can't wait to see the rest!

Felix

Today is a strange day. A week ago, not a thing was out of place at our house. Over the weekend, we noticed that Felix was sleeping a LOT. It's hard to notice something like that because our cats sleep 22 out of 24 hours a day. But Felix stopped sleeping at Eric's feet at night and he didn't seem interested in food, even when I opened a can of tuna on Sunday after church. Monday morning he didn't come running to badger Eric for some of the milk in his cheerios. Very odd behavior for our little feline food-monger. Monday afternoon he seemed a little thin to me so I weighed him on the scale...hmm...he'd lost a couple of pounds (and starting out of 10 lbs, that is a large percentage of weight loss!) The more we observed him, the more it became apparent....Felix was sick...really sick really fast. We didn't know why or what was causing it, but he was not himself. Last night, I saw him eating kitty litter. He was literally licking pebbles up off the floor. I thought, 'this is a really bad sign.' I called our vet first thing this morning to take him in. Since we both sensed that he was in really bad shape, even though it was a quick deterioration, Eric said goodbye to him before leaving for work, just in case I would have to make any decisions about him that morning at the vet. After his physical exam, the vet said she suspected FIV (feline HIV basically) and/or anemia. She said we could do a quick blood test to confirm whether it was either of these. He tested negative to FIV but positive to SEVERE anemia. He had a fever and heart murmur as well. I guess normal red blood cell % in cats is 30-40%. Felix's count was at 9%. Unfortunately, the cause of his severe anemia wasn't apparent so we were looking at very extensive testing and bloodwork to pursue possible treatment. Even then, it could be cancer, kidney failure or a plethora of other un-treatable issues. Eric and I knew going into it that we weren't going to spend thousands of dollars on testing/treatment; financially even a hundred or two (knowing the exam alone would cost $45!) would be a stretch. The vet said we could do anti-biotics and steroids to try to fight off a possible infection, but that if it didn't work, he was so low on oxygen in his blood that we might see him start to really struggle, like panting, etc. I shook my head at the idea, there is just no way I could possible stand by, bearing to watch him struggle or suffer. So, I had to say my goodbyes to him. As I rubbed his ears, pet his head, and told him that we loved him and were sorry he was so sick, he starting purring. This was a miracle, because he only purrs for Eric and absolutely never purrs at the vet since he hates being there. Maybe it was his way of saying goodbye to me too.

Felix was the quirkiest and most entertaining cat I've ever known. He was fiesty and FULL of personality. He loved milk (would literally edge you out of your own cereal bowl), cheese, popcorn, doritos (dragged countless unopened bags from the pantry to a hiding spot to tear into), and flour tortillas. He ate all kinds of other stuff too. He purred sooooo loud for food. He would "mark" my coffee cup and his food bowl to save it for later. Poor thing was very uncoordinated and off-balanced (we joked that he missed his kitten "how to jump" training) and had a very high pitch little meow. One of my favorite quirks of his was his love of water. He would unexpectedly jump in our showers and baths (uninvited of course) because he loved water so much. You could dump water all over his head and body and he couldn't care less about being drenched. It was really fun to have a cat that was so much of a goat, dog, cat, weirdo combination.

The house is feeling empty today without him. Marzell doesn't seem to phased by his absence (big shocker, yeah right). I'll miss his sweet little face looking for scraps and him being my buddy at my feet while I cook. We loved you, Felix!

As a kitten, chewing on my keys.

Sunbathing on a bed of sweaters - his favorite.

Helping Marzell break in Sophia's crib/bedding before she was born

Attacking a pizza box.

He LOVED cardboard boxes. Eric spent 20 min building him a fort with tunnels made out of boxes one time....I think it took Felix about 30 seconds to destroy it

Swiping a dorito while he thinks no one is looking...

The sink, a common nap location

His all-time favorite nap location...dining room chair cushion

We loved you, you crazy "wild man" cat!

New Cousin!

Sophia's new cousin was born yesterday in Seattle..... Juliet Elizabeth Walker!! We are so excited for them as they are now a family of FOUR! Big bro Luca has a sweet pea sister! After a very LONG labor, she arrived 6 lb, 9 oz and 19 inches long. Both mama and baby are doing fabulously and recovering well. Now Sophia and I just have to find a way to go out and visit them! This is when it is sooo extra hard to live far apart from a dearly beloved sister!

We are so happy for John, Katie, and Luca on their beautiful new addition to the Walker family!

Good eatin'

Our girl loves to eat! It is the only gene I am positive that comes from me. :)

Spaghetti night at our house....

Also, she is so proud (read: determined) to eat with a spoon by herself! She is feeding herself oatmeal for breakfast...what a big girl!

Fun with Mimi being here for the week!

Sophia loved having Mimi here all week! It was special to have her celebrate Sophia's birthday and spend time with us. Sophia was so cute; she would wake up from naps reaching for the door, knowing Mimi was out there waiting to play! Pops, thanks for holding down the Sonne fort! We wish you could have been here too!

We went out on 2/2 for Soph's birthday lunch at Chick-Fil-A....granted, she ate green beans, crackers, and oranges from home but she still loves going out to sit in restaurants with us. :)

Chilling on the couch...daddy taking a nap

Mimi with the birthday girl

Going for a wagon ride on a beautiful, sunny day! I think Mimi was ok with having 50 degree days here; meanwhile back at the dorm, it was bitterly cold with temps below zero!

More Birthday Shots!

These pictures are from Mimi's camera....thanks so much for taking them!

Opening presents....Sophia's sweet cousins were glad to lend a hand! :) Sophia received her very first baby doll and will have fun learning to be a "little mama".

Me and my girl! before she got dressed for the party in her tutu...

This is by far one of my FAVORITE pictures of the whole day!! I LOVE her big smile having everyone sing 'Happy Birthday' to her! She was excited about her cupcake too!

Yum yum yum....

The BIRTHDAY Girl!!!!!

Sophia is officially ONE! A 12 month post is coming...but first I had to get some pictures up of our celebration this afternoon! It has been wonderful having Eric's Mom in town for the week. Wish everyone else could have been here too!

I made Sophia a special apple spice cupcake....of which she LOVED. The recipe was dairy-free, egg-free, and sugar-free...but would anyone expect any differently from a baby-wearing, breastfeeding, cloth-diapering Mama? :)

All the adults and kiddos > 1 yrs old got funfetti cake with cream cheese icing. We had two different cakes decorated keeping in line with the lady bug theme...I was pretty happy with how they turned out considering it was my first attempt at cake-decorating!

Sophia had that cupcake in a death grip! Hah!

Happy Birthday, our dearest LoveBug, Sophia! Mama & Daddy love you more than you know!