Playing with her new crib

Sophia has really been enjoying putting her baby dolls down for a nap. She even knows how to cover them up with a blanket.

NT Scan

We got the results back from our ultrasound and NT scan and all of my numbers came back in the "normal" range. That's great news, but it's not like we expected to hear anything different. It's still very comforting to hear that your baby is very unlikely to have chromosomal abnormalities. 1 in 250 is considered risky. Our numbers were 1 in 2700 for down syndrome and 1 in 8300 for Edwards disease.

The "honeymoon" trimester

I made it! The second trimester is officially beginning and I'm 4 months pregnant. Some call this the honeymoon trimester because the hormones have supposedly settled down and the woman's body has adjusted to the pregnancy and is able to just enjoy for the next few months until shortness of breath and being uncomfortable settle in for the final few months. Um....for me it's not the case yet. I still feel nauseus when I take off my sea bands for longer than a 1/2 hour. If I don't sleep with them on then I wake up feeling sick.

Other than that - I'm showing. 2 people have commented so far that they can see a baby bump! That's cool.

Cravings: Watermelon! Watermelon! Watermelon! An expensive craving for this time of year.

I'm thankful for Barney!

For Thanksgiving we went to Northern Virginia to celebrate and visit the whole Alexander clan and, since we were all going to be in the same place at the same time, we celebrated Christmas too!

(top left to bottom right: Will, Rob, Mike, Chad, Don, Shirley, Cynthia, Sophia, Misty, Jack, Claire, Madeline, Terra & Charlie)

I woke up on Thanksgiving morning around 4AM with the flu. Will came to the rescue and finished all of our last minute packing and car loading and I literally rolled downstairs and into the car around 10 AM and we began our 3-4 hour trek up to Northern Va. We arrived before 2:00, I think. It was all kind of a blur to me. Sophia was an absolute dream child in the car thanks to her portable DVD player and Barney DVDs. We were also blessed with her angelic behavior all the way home! Thanks, Barney.

This Barney addiction didn't stop when we weren't in the car. Little Sophie was obsessed with watching her DVD all weekend whenever the adults weren't taking turns rocking out to Guitar Hero on the Wii. On Saturday Will, Claire and I took Sophia to Chuck E. Cheese for a few hours to burn off some of her extra energy. How fantastic was it that they had a Barney ride on toy? I think we spent $10.00 in tokens riding Barney!



The Wii was a big hit and provided lots of entertainment for all of us. Especially the night we all took turns taking the "Big Brain Academy" Exam and learned that Cynthia is the smartest person in the family.



Our other outing was to a MacDonald's that had the largest kid play room I've ever seen. Terra and Madeline had a blast playing up high in the rocket ship and Sophia enjoyed beating up little girls in the lower level enclosures. Somehow we're going to have to figure out how to clone Grancy and have one for each grandchild. She's got the best lap in all of Northern Va!

Christmas/Thanksgiving Day was really fun. It seems that Sophia finally understands that presents are meant to be opened and usually contain something fun! She loves her Bitty Baby crib and onesie outfits that Grancy and Big Daddy gave her. Since we've been home all of her baby dolls have taken turns wearing the new onesies. She also loves the Bitty Baby Carrier Backpack from Madeline & Terra and has put all of her baby accessories in it for safe keeping. This morning she asked me to push her around in her umbrella stroller while she leaned forward and pushed Bitty Baby in her stroller. We looked like a stroller train. I got to be the caboose! Lucky me!!

Here's some of my other favorite pictures from the weekend:

Throwing punches

We had a play date on Friday with 2 other girls from Sophia's music class. We went to the Children's Museum of Virginia (only a 1/2 hour drive for us). They have tons of things for the kiddos to play with and see. I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures of our day there, but Sophia had a blast. She especially loved the "bubbles" room and the mock city, complete with a fire engine, bus and mail box. I think the toddler play area was my favorite part because it was enclosed and she couldn't run away from me to explore!

The two little girls that we went with are around Sophia's age. Addie is 21 months and Hailey is 19 months. Sophia decided that she didn't want Addie to play in the same part of the play tunnel as her and proceeded to hit her in the face. Once I saw this behavior appear I knew there was going to be more to follow. The worst offense was at the top of the slide (where mom's aren't supposed to go). Sophia was up on the platform and suddenly felt the need to beat up on Addie again - with both hands! I dodged a few kids on the way up the steps and finally made it to the top to grab Sophia and remove her from the situation. It's soooooo embarrassing when your kid is the one that's being bad!

This morning at a recipe exchange play date she started hitting again. We're now disciplining Sophia with Time Out so she had to sit in Time Out this morning a few times. Unfortunately, Time Out is still a game to her. She will put her self into a Time Out and then sit there and smile like it's FUN! She's really working a nerve on Mom. There was a little boy that hit her back this morning and it didn't even seem to phase her. A few minutes later they were doing Ring Around the Rosie together anyway.

I'm hoping her big cousins will show her the proper way to behave this weekend!

The V-Tech Package Arrived

WOW. It was true. Vtech sent us one of their Vsmile Baby tv/computer systems and 4 cartridge games to go with it. Sophia saw it sitting in the dining room all weekend and really wanted to open it and see what it was all about, but it's going to be one of her Christmas presents (from Santa, I guess). She's going to love it.

Itty Bitty Baby

I had an ultrasound on Wednesday evening and the little baby was really active. It was so comforting to see the baby's legs moving around and to watch the hands move up towards to the face, almost as if the baby wanted to suck it's thumb. All of this and it's only about 2.5 inches long at this point.

Sophia saw the baby in the tv monitor right away and kept repeating "Baby" over and over to the technician and the nurse in the room. All of us were shocked that she could identify the baby on the ultrasound. Will claims that this baby looks exactly like him too! (But I think Sophia is looking more like me these days)....

We asked if they could tell us the sex of the baby, but they said it was too early to tell. We'll have to wait until the next routine ultrasound - given around 20 weeks.

I also had a doctor's appointment this week and got to hear the baby's heartrate again. It was 165 bpm this time. Last time it was 150 bpm. I have gained 1 pound so far.

The picture below is a 3D image and the baby is facing and saluting the camera. Can you see it? :-)

Sophia turned 18 months old yesterday

We went to the mall today to burn off some energy. Someone asked me how old she was and for the first time I didn't give them a number in "months". I simply said, "She's 1 and a half". It felt really weird to say that and to know that in just 6 months from now there is going to be another little "male or female Sophia" running around. We always have a good time when we go to the mall, but today was especially fun. We shared a pumpkin blizzard from Dairy Queen and then had pizza. She prefers walking over the stroller and likes to push the buttons for the elevator.

Here's some important information about Sophia. She's all girl, for the most part, but occassionally she'll turn part-monkey and think that she has to climb up, over, under, or around obstacles NOT in her way.

• WORDS: Mommy, Dada (sometimes Daddy, but the 2nd d is silent), No, Dog, Baby, More, Please (pronounced like ssssssss), Down (this is said with each step she takes going up or down the stairs), Nana, Poppy, Grancy (sounds like Cee) Big Daddy (sounds like Bee)


• TRANSPORTATION: Strickly running


• SHOE SIZE: 6.5 or 7


• SHIRTS: 2 or 3T - depends on brand


• PANTS: 18 months or 2T


• FAV PASTIMES: Following Mommy around and Watching Barney Movies. This kid LOVES Barney


• FAV ACTIVITIES: Throwing her kitchen magnets all over the floor, harassing Sadie and trying to put on her own shoes and socks


• FAV SONG: I Love You, You Love Me (One of Barney's songs...and she loves to give the hug and the kiss. In fact, if the song starts playing she runs into the room where I am so we can do it together)
  
• FAV FOODS: Chicken nuggets, pizza, pancakes, meatballs/pasta, jelly toast, apples, yogurt, pineapple, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, and ketchup


• WON'T EAT: Grilled cheese or cereal with milk

Sadie's not dying

She doesn't have cancer. It wasn't a bug bite either. The vet called today to tell me that Sadie had a severely inflamed/infected case of ringworm. GROSS, I know. The vet said that she had never seen a case as bad as Sadie's before and there would have been no way for her to detect it without doing the biopsy. The entire lesion was removed so there's no chance of it spreading. However, ringworm is only a fungal skin infection and is easily treated with a fungal antibiotic (or a simple bleach and water solution), for future reference!

So, how does a dog or human catch ringworm you ask? By direct contact and it takes 10-12 days to incubate before it shows on the body. In rare cases a dog can pick it up from infected soil, but most likely she was infected by another dog, cat, person or a grooming tool. None of us have ringworm so more than likely it was another animal! Just to be on the safe side, I'm sterilizing EVERYTHING!

Way to go, Sadie! No Christmas presents for you!

Sadie's new look

Yesterday I literally spent hours calling every single vet, pet store and animal shelter in Virginia Beach looking for a soft e-collar instead of the hard plastic one she was wearing. With the hard one on she really wasn't even mobile because it stuck out at least 2 inches beyond her snout. She couldn't climb the stairs, get a drink or even fit into her crate, her "safe place". She was acting depressed and disoriented. Personally, I don't know how she was able to see through the clear patterned plastic either.

I wanted to do everything I could to make Sadie more comfortable so I asked our vet for an alternative solution. She actually recommended the soft e-collar to me, but didn't have any in stock that would be large enough for Sadie.

I found a company in Florida that would overnight one to me for a pretty penny. It was money well spent because I noticed the difference in Sadie immediately. She's able to move around the house and she was even playing with one of her favorite new toys which happens to be Sophia's Halloween souvenir from our trip to the Zoo. The ladybug has officially become Sadie's possession.

You can see that Sadie is healing quite nicely now.

What's up, baby?

I've been feeling sick again. This week the morning sickness feeling seems to come out of nowhere and strike when I least expect it. Lucky for me the sea bands are still working their magic.

I go see the doctor in the morning and will get to hear the baby's heart beat (fingers crossed) on the super Doppler sonar thingamabob! Then tomorrow night at 5:20 we will get to see the little babe on our second ultrasound. Will and I are both looking forward to it. I'm sure Sophia will be unimpressed and impatient with us, but hopefully can keep her cool.

Happy Birthday Mommy.

I celebrated my birthday over the weekend. We went to the mall on Saturday night and literally chased Sophia around for an hour. She loves to run free and explore. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with her, but she doesn't seem to mind as long as Lamby is with her!

This is a picture from Sunday. I now have dark hair. What do you think?

It's back to the vet for Sadie.

Sadie pulled out one of her stitches this morning after a weekend of relaxing and recovery. She had a rough morning...more sedation, new stitches, bleeding. UUUGGG! She's absolutely miserable wearing this hard plastic e-collar, so I'm spending today trying to find a soft e-collar for her. I can't find a single vet, pet store or animal shelter in the area that carries on large enough for Sadie. I think I'm going to have to order one online and hope that it arrives quickly!

200 days to go

OK - 200 days seems like alot of days, but considering that Sophia turns 18 months old next week - that means my due date is only 6 months away.

My next doctor's appointment is scheduled for Wednesday morning and I also have an ultrasound scheduled for Wednesday evening. I can't wait to get a few more pictures of the little "bundle of joy" growing inside of me.

Cravings this week - lots of fresh fruit and Mexican food

Sadie's stitches

Sadie had her surgery yesterday and came home pretty groggy and damaged. I picked up her around 3pm and she slept for the whole afternoon until Will got home from work at which time she instantly regained her old "hyper, excited" personality. Last night she was kind of pawing at the stitches a bit, but today she didn't seem to mind them as much. She will be getting her stitches out in 2 weeks and we'll hear back from the vet this week about lump. Keep your fingers crossed.

I won something else!

This is truly unbelievable to me, but yesterday I received this email from VTech. I entered their Baby Your Baby Sweepstakes.

Congratulations!

You have been chosen as one of the lucky winners for the VTech Baby Your Baby weekly
drawing for the week of November 8, 2007. To claim your
V.Smile Baby Prize Pack, please confirm the address below as a valid shipping address:

- Shirley Alexander
- 2689 Mulberry Loop - 2689 Mulberry Loop
- Virginia Beach, VA 23456

Please respond by November 22, 2007. If you do not respond by
the specified date, you will be disqualified and your prize will be forfeited.

Congratulations again. We hope you and your kid(s) enjoy hours of learning
fun with your new V.Smile Baby and library of V.Smile Baby Smartridges!

Sincerely,
Your Friends At VTech

I replied and today I received the confirmation email. They are going to mail out my prize in the next few days. Um....can you say Merry Christmas, Sophia?!

THE WIGGLES

We had a terrific time last night at the Wiggles show in our freebie nose-bleed seats. Sophie was awe struck by all the people. She absolutely loved seeing all the dressed up costume characters. Her favorite was the Dog. Have I mentioned that Dog is her favorite word these days. She shouts out "dog" all day long so seeing the Dog last night dance around on the stage was great fun for her. You can see the Dog in this video.



I took a lot of pictures, but most of them turned out slightly blurry and/or too dark because of the lighting in the arena. By the way, Sophia fell down yesterday and really gave herself a shiner. For what it looks like, she certainly didn't cry like it was going to leave such a mark. Take a look at all the pictures here.

They saved their signature song, Hot Potato, until the very end of the show. Sophie actually stood up and danced to the whole song. It's one of the songs we do in her music class so she knows all the moves. You've got to watch her doing the dance.

The Dora Slippers

Sophia picked out a pair of slippers this week. Well...she only had a choice between 2 styles at Walmart because her feet are so darned big. There were tons of cute options for toddlers (bunnies, piggies, doggies), but they only went up to size 5-6 and she's wearing size 7-8. She had a choice between Eskimo Dora and 2 Princesses. She picked Eskimo Dora.

I put them on her when we got home and Sadie immediately wanted to bite the Dora heads off. Sophia was running around in her slippers and Sadie was nipping at her feet. It was so funny!

My other kid, Sadie

Everyone knows that Sadie holds a very special place in my heart and in Sophia's as well. Sadie has to have surgery tomorrow to have a lump removed from her face. It's right beside her left eye. I noticed it on Tuesday and here's what it looked like then.

I took her to see the vet this morning (ironically, this appointment was already scheduled for her annual checkup) and the vet told me she couldn't tell what they lump might be. So Sadie is scheduled for surgery tomorrow to have it removed and biopsied. Sadie really panics and doesn't like to go to the vet's office at all so I feel really bad that she's going to have be dropped off tomorrow by herself. I should be able to pick her up in the afternoon, but we won't know until next week what the lump actually is.

When we got called into the exam room, they took Sadie and went into the back to do some blood tests, etc... all the normal routine visit stuff. Sophie watched Sadie leave the room and proceeded to cry her eyes out until Sadie returned. Sophia was devastated that someone took Sadie away from her. I couldn't do anything to console her. She just sat on my lap clinging to Lamby and cried.

Here's what the lump looks like now. Sadie's been scratching and rubbing it and making it look really gross. Poor doggie! I really hope she's OK.

Belly Bump

I have a belly bump @ 11 weeks. Of course you wouldn't be able to look at me and determine that I'm pregnant, but you might think, "Hmmmm, she's putting on some weight". Actually I haven't gained any weight yet, but I definitely look bigger in the mid-section. Those of you that have had more than one child, you know what I'm talking about. You show earlier the 2nd time around...I can't imagine the 3rd or 4th time around....but then again, Will thinks we should stop at 2. We'll see what's in the cards for us later.

Hopefully I can stay out of maternity clothes for as long as possible. I'm NOT a fan!

Sophia's going to be a big sister

It's true. I'm pregnant. My due date is May 28, 2008 - just two weeks after Sophia turns 2.

I started a new blog when I first found out, but I don't know how long I can maintain 2 of them. Take a look. You can also find a new link in the right menu bar of Sophie's blog. Enjoy.

Here's the picture we shared with our family to tell them the good news.

Fall in Virginia Beach

It seems like fall is finally here, although I'm wearing a short-sleeved shirt today and didn't need a jacket at all.

The three of us went to the Botanical Garden for their annual holiday sale this weekend and Will and Sophia spent some time outside while I shopped - for nothing. I did get a really good idea for Baby Jack so I was able to get 1 gift accomplished! Yea.

Anyway, Will got some cute pictures of Sophia all bundled up in her jean jacket. Check out how short the sleeves are on her. She's still growing like a weed. It seems like she's got a really long torso (like Dad) and normal legs (like Mom). She's wearing 2 or 3T shirts and only 18months or 2T pants. She'll only be 18 months old on the 14th of this month. She's also wearing size 6.5 and 7 shoes (depends on the brand).

There are more cute fall pictures in flickr - check them out.

Eating a rice cake

Sophia loves to eat crunchy finger foods. Rice cakes are one of her favorite thing at the moment. (Actually to my surprise, so are black olives, but that's not what this post is about).

On Friday I gave her a rice cake and she asked to eat it at the kitchen table like a "big girl". I put her in the chair and she gazed out the glass door and nibbled on her white cheddar rice cake. I couldn't resist taking a few pictures.

Her favorite sweatshirt

Ok - this is completely random since Sophia really doesn't even like the Sesame Street characters yet, but she absolutely LOVES this ZOE sweatshirt. Maybe it's the big, shiny eyes or maybe it's the fabric in the back that zips into a hood when she needs it. Who knows. She gets excited every time I get it out for her to wear and when she has it on she runs to the mirror to admire herself. So cute!

Impressed with my own luck lately!

Talk about lucky. And, I can't ever remember a time in my life when I've won any random contest and I just won 2 of them.

About a month ago I won a $50 Home Depot gift cerfiticate from one of the many "Mom" websites I visit. They hand out one random prize per day just for uploading a photo. Mine was selected - and to be honest, it wasn't even a good picture! I used to believe that clubmom.com has someone on staff who gets to select the winning picture, but considering that this one was selected I feel pretty confident saying it's randomly selected by a computer.

Today I received this email:

Shirley Alexander,

Hi! Congratulations, you've won a family four pack
of tickets to see "The Wiggles Live-Racing to the
Rainbow" at Hampton Coliseum on November 7, 2007
at 6:30 p.m. Please contact me at the number below
or via email so we can arrange pickup of your tickets.
Our office is open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm or I can arrange
an after hours pick up for you.

Best wishes,
Mikki Martin
Internet & Sponsorship Coordinator
MacArthur Center
(757) 627-6502

How awesome is that?

It's amazing!

MORNING SICKNESS IS OVER!!!!

I have felt completely ill for weeks now and all of a sudden I woke up at the beginning of the week and I felt GOOD. I almost feel GREAT! I took Sadie for a walk twice this week already and we'll be able to go again today!

My cravings were out of control when I was feeling sick.

Here's the list to name a few...and all of these were my body's remedies to soothe my stomach.

• Pickle juice - straight of out the jar (this makes me think of my friend, Shannan) Now I can get by on just having a crispy dill pickle. Sophia has discovered that she loves pickles too!


• Fruit - went through a huge fruit phase, mostly had to have watermelon and pineapple.


• Peppermint - tea and peppermint patties mostly, but I also went to Yankee Candle and bought a Jack Frost (their peppermint scent) air freshener for my car and their largest candle. I'm going to have to return the candle because the scent now makes me feel ill. I can only stomach the tea now.


• Sour stuff - OK - I really should say Lemonade. Pink lemonade to be exact. And, let me tell you, I couldn't stand the diet version so I was guzzling 150 calories per can for the last couple of weeks...but since I wasn't eating much of anything I guess it all has evened out.


• Milk - this is my new craving - a glass in the morning and another in the afternoon. YUM.

10 weeks along now!

Halloween Aftermath

Well, Sophia and I successfully made it all the way around Mulberry Loop last night. I was exhausted by the time we were done, but she was just as energetic as ever! Of course, I had to pull her in the wagon and carry her quite a bit, so she was able to conserve her energy for the candy sorting process when we got home. Check out all of her loot! Her favorites: the Dum Dum suckers!