Easter Weekend

Happy Easter! It was a phenomenal day spent with great people. The weekend started off to a not so great start so we're thankful to have our little Sofie be happy and healthy again. She had a super high fever that completely freaked me out on Friday so I rushed her to the doctor and it turns out she had a bad ear infection. I've never been so relieved! Fevers can be so scary... but I was just glad we were able to figure out what it was and get her medication ASAP. I knew she was sick b/c all she would do was lie down on me and she was burning up hot. It was the saddest thing, and even though I loved the cuddle time it broke my heart at the same time b/c I knew she felt so bad she didn't want to do anything at all. Bless her little heart. Having a sick little one is one of the hardest things to deal with.

On a happier note, she woke up the next morning like a new baby so we took advantage of the gorgeous day and went to the zoo and out to dinner! I was so thankful she was feeling better and she had a great day. Back to happy little Sofie Lu.

It occurred to me that this Easter was not a "first" for Sofia. Her first "non-first" haha...but, her birth will always help me remember the true meaning of Easter b/c she certainly represents and gave us "new life" and helps us celebrate that since her birth was just days before Easter.

She was just days old last Easter so it was quite different. Definitely different at church, that's for sure! She is starting to be a handful but we usually get through it! So, this morning we woke up and went to early mass, came home and got ready for our big Easter brunch. Before everyone got here, we opened up our Easter baskets and let Sofia hunt for eggs. We weren't sure how that would go, but she actually got it! She found the eggs and would shake them, so we would open them up and she would eat her treats :) Brunch was so nice; we had about ten friends come over and everyone brought something delicious. Luckily, even Sofia had a playmate, Kendyl - she's a little older (three) but they had a great time together!

Even though we of course missed our families today, having wonderful friends around to celebrate the day made it a very special day - as Easter should be - a joyful celebration!

Here are a few pics and a video of Sofia on her egg hunt.

Easter Bunny, Kids Fest

This past weekend was the first weekend Mike has had off since January! Sad that the Bucks did not do better this season, but SO HAPPY to have Daddy back! :) So, we did lots of fun stuff including an neighborhood Easter party on Saturday and Kids Fest on Sunday. We know how much Sofia loves Bango so we were pumped for her to meet the Bunny, but we're starting to think maybe she's only a Bango fan and not a mascot fan in general.

She did love the Easter bunny from a far but up close... she was a little tentative until he let her play with his nose. The party was fun - we ate some yummy food, hung out with the Easter bunny, and did an Easter egg hunt! Fun times...

Kids Fest is basically a huge event at the WI Expo Center with all kinds of kid stuff (vendors, activities, shows, etc). Sofia's favorite part was the Family Farm. She just loves looking at animals!

Happy Easter!

Walk n' Push

Here's a video of Sofie's new skill ... almost there :)

One Year Check Up

I just realized I never gave an update of Sofia's one year check up! It was on 3/22/11.

Stats below:

Height - 29 1/2 inches (50th percentile)

Weight - 21 lbs, 14 1/2 oz (75th percentile)

It made me sad b/c she knew what was up once we got in the exam room. As soon as she saw the nurse, the tears started. She was fine once it was said and done but, she definitely knows what the doc is all about now :( I held her during her shots b/c she was clinging on like a koala bear!

Dr. says she's on par developmentally. Not to worry that she's not walking yet...I'm not rushing it that's for sure! Although now with her new walker toys... I feel like it's around the corner. Yikes! She's got the all clear for all foods besides peanut products and any choking hazards (still has to eat little bitty pieces of food), and is now on whole milk. Big step for us!

We talked about weaning which now, has been done successfully! Not without a few tears (on my part!). It was definitely easier for her than it was for me... I loved nursing. Although sometimes a pain to pump and tough to be so depended upon all the time, I absolutely loved it. Such great bonding time and knowing I was doing such a great thing for her - plus, she loved it too. I feel so accomplished and proud that I was able to do it for a full year b/c I know it can be a struggle for so many women. It was the best thing, and while I'm sad it's over, it was the first step of many in giving Sofia her independence. :) She's doing so great already with her sippy cups of milk so it makes me very happy and I know we did the right thing all around. It was definitely a better transition than I had imagined.

Some new things Sofie's up to:

-Mimicking sounds

-Saying more and more words (I'd say she has about 5-8 "words" in her vocab)

-Pointing to body parts/objects when asked

-'Singing' songs (she requests songs from Grammie!) - it's more of the hand motions than words

-'Reading' books to herself - man, she LOVES her books

-Furniture Cruising

-Just started pushing around her little walk and ride toy

-Sleeping until 8-8:30 which has me baffled b/c I thought they needed less sleep as they grew up! Not complaining, but it's throwing our days off a little b/c like I mentioned I've become kind of a schedule nazi! As of now, I'm letting her sleep b/c I can't imagine this is going to be an all the time thing! But who knows....

One Year Photo Shoot

Here's ALL the pics, untouched and touched up so there's a lot... but figured I should post them :

Click here to take a look

Party Time Fiesta!

The party was awesome...beyond perfect... and Sofia was so much more of a trooper than I ever would have imagined. She started out the day a little overwhelmed but once we put her in her high chair and let her hang back and eat/watch everyone else around, she was a content little girl!

We spent the morning prepping for the big day, and thanks to our parents and Auntie Robyn the house looked awesome and the food was delicious! It was so special to have our families around for Sofia's day and I know she could feel the love.

I also made Sofia a slideshow to play in the background to go with some music. All I know is I am glad I watched it several times before the party b/c I think I got all my emotional tears out before hand! I am excited I have that slideshow of her first year to keep for forever....

Once everyone was here we had dinner which was a yummy homemade Mexican feast to go along with the Fiesta theme. Sofia definitely enjoyed her fajitas, rice and beans. Of course up next was the cake and she did not know what to make of it. She loved having everyone sing Happy Birthday to her which was pretty funny. As far as the cake eating, I had been awaiting this moment for a very long time b/c Sofie is a girl who loves her food and I could not wait to see what she would do with a big piece of sugary cake. When we brought out her cake with the candle she just looked at it in total wonderment. It was a precious moment for sure. Then, when we cut her a piece, she went to down. She definitely liked the frosting more than the cake! And as for the sugar high afterwards, that was the best part. She was totally stripped down but for her diaper during her cake eating and when I picked her up out of her high chair I tried to hold her at a distance. It was hilarious b/c it was like she kept trying to hug me to "share" all the frosting and she was cracking up. Finally, I gave up and let myself be covered in frosting too! And in the bath she went...

Next was presents and she very much enjoyed the ripping of the paper. Luckily we had a couple of the other guests (the sweet Grahl girls) to help Sofia open which was so nice! :) Thank you to everyone for the great gifts - so so nice and Sofia's playroom and closet are both stocked!

It was a wonderful day - again, totally filled with love. It felt so great to have our family and friends around to celebrate such an important day in our daughter's life. It's one of those days I'd definitely love to re-live. I was relieved and amazed that Sofie genuinely seemed to enjoy herself as well. It was a perfect day, and I can't wait for all the birthday parties to come!