PONY

At swimming lessons Sophia is learning to blow bubbles except she refuses to put her face in the water. You should see how she arches her neck back to keep her chin from getting WHET. The teacher suggests that we teach them how the HORSEY does it - and Sophia loves acting like a HORSEY. She's been blowing bubbles all the time, but she won't try it in the water - in the pool or the bathtub. Oh well.

She's obsessed with PONYS now. In fact, you can see her blowing BUBBLES riding on a PONY and holding her other little PONY in this picture.

Someone got bit by the Cling to Mommy Bug.

Yesterday at My Gym a little girl sat on my lap. I don't know the little girl, but her mom was standing close by and I think she thought I was her. I was sitting on the floor near where Sophia was playing, but as soon as she noticed the little girl on my lap she immediately ran to me and climbed on too. She wrapped her arms around my neck and was clearly upset by the fact that someone else was sharing her Mommy! When the girl's mom picked her up, Sophia hugged and kissed me and played with my hair for what seemed like five minutes before she was comfortable releasing me.

Hmmmmm.....

Today we went to a play date at the mall and Sophia refused to let go of me. She protested whenever I turned away from her to chat with some of the other moms. She pulled me around by my finger and made me play with her the entire time we were there.

Ever since she didn't want to stay at the Y by herself this weekend, I kind of had a feeling this was going to happen. Keep your fingers crossed that this is just a short lived phase.

Exercise for everyone.

We usually go to the Y on Saturday and Sunday mornings because the Child Watch area is open for Sophia. She normally loves the weekend mother/daughter pair that works in there so it's always easy for us to drop her off and hit the gym for at least 45 minutes. This Sunday proved that to be untrue. She literally started screaming for Mommy as soon as I left the room. Even when Will stayed back to help get her interested in the doll toys, she still seemed unwilling to be there. We ended up leaving about 10 minutes later.

Fortunately, later in the afternoon, I was able to go for a run by myself! Sophia was down for a nap so No Stroller to Push, Will volunteered to let me workout first, AND Sadie wasn't coming!!! YEA!!!!! I put on my belly support band so I would be comfortable, I strapped on my Walkman and remembered to bring water. I was ready for a super awesome 4-mile run - BY MYSELF. I hit the pavement and literally 3 minutes into it I started to feel a fine mist coming down. Mmmmmm.....it will pass, it's been sunny all day. The mist gets a little harder for a few minutes, but I keep going. Eventually it stops all together. Awesome. Onward!

Just then I started feeling the baby kick in a way that I've never felt before. It hurt and it felt like cramping. I slowed to a walk and every time I tried running I had to immediately walk because the baby was kicking and making me so uncomfortable. At this point I'm a mile into the run and I'm thinking maybe I should just turn around, go home, get Sadie and take her for a long walk. But then I realized that I was alone - or as alone as I can be with a kicking baby in my belly - and I noticed how awesome that felt and I thought "screw Sadie!" I'm going to take a long walk by myself!

So, I walked for half a mile and it was lame. Who wants to walk when there's running to be done???? And then suddenly I had an epiphany! My belly support band was on too tight! I loosened it up and presto! was off running again. I decided to only run for 3 miles since I didn't want to press my luck. I ended up having a great run!

Ironically, Sophia woke up soon after I got home so Will didn't get to workout until later in the evening. He's been doing jump-training for the past 2 months which requires some extreme hard work. You should see how high he can jump and the various objects he can scale. It's very impressive. He's also doing clapping push ups. I cannot wait until I'm not pregnant anymore so I can try one. There is no way I can do one. I've never been able to do one, but watching someone else do almost 10 successfully in a row makes someone like me want to try it for myself!

Anyway, we took Sophia to the playground where Sadie escaped about 2 weeks ago. Will wanted to run around with Sadie and also do some jump-training intervals. Sadly, the playground has turned into the scene of a what looks like some teenage racist rage. The bottom of one of the slides was burned, other attempts had been made to burn other parts of the equipment and there was graphiti painted all over it. It didn't stop us from playing there, but it made me very sad and it made Sophia's hands and face filthy! Click here to see all the pictures.

You can see the burned slide in this video:

And here are some links to other videos of Sophia and Will running around.

CHASE

Race to the Pole

Jumping over Sophia If you look closely at the fence in the background you'll see the hole where Sadie escaped 2 weeks ago. It was/is impossible for me to fit through that hole to get to her - so it was a very good thing she came back!

Sadie had a friend come over yesterday for a doggie play date. The people across the street went out of town for the holiday and asked if I could feed/walk their puppy in the morning and in the afternoon. I decided to bring Deagan, their dog, over to play with Sadie so they could both get some exercise. Sophia loved watching the dogs play and run around. Lots more pictures to look through.

And now for some audience participation

If you'll remember, last time around Will and I had a terribly hard time coming up with Sophia Amber as "the" name. This time is no different. We each have a favorite (I'm on my 2nd favorite now), although I'm kind of partial to his name now that I've had some time to think about it.

We're not definite at all...and we're not going to tell you our favorites. Over the next 15 weeks we're going to play a little game with you which requires your participation. It's simple. Just vote in the poll each week! ENJOY...

100 days to go until baby's due date

Time is certainly flying for us and soon the new addition to our family will be here. Only 100 days until her due date. Yea, tomorrow I'll be in the double digit countdown.

We're going to paint her room a light melon color and go with a melon, yellow and lime green room this time. Sophia seems to have cornered the yellow, pink, purple market and I want their rooms to be different.

We hit the beach

We thought the weather was fairly nice on Saturday so we all hopped in the car and headed to the beach. When we got there we found out the weather was actually COLD and windy. Even Sophia admitted it was cold, but Sadie didn't seem to mind one bit.

We played a while in the sand and stepped in the BUBBLES (foam left behind on the beach by the waves) and then Sophia had a major tantrum when it was time to leave. She didn't want to leave at all and sat right down on the Boardwalk in protest. During these public tantrums a Mom is supposed to physically remove the child from the scene and let them cool off. This is proving to be more difficult for me the heavier/bigger she gets.

See all of the pics.

Last night Sophia and Dad and I went to Blockbuster and rented a few movies. We rented Badass (a recommendation from Rob) and Mr. Brooks (a recommendation from Daniel) and we splurged and rented a Barney DVD for Sophia to watch. She's been really interested in numbers and counting lately so I saw one called Numbers Numbers and we decided to rent it for a few days. Turns out it's a pretty short video so we're a bit disappointed, but Sophia loves it.

On Friday afternoon she counted to FEE or sometimes FWEE. ONE TWO FEE, she counted for me. Then when Will gave her a bath she counted to FOUR!

But, oh my gosh....While we were in Blockbuster she alternated counting all the way to 10 with me. Honestly, she counted to TEN with me and she's done it with both of us a few times since. I had no idea that at 21 months old she could count all the way to 10 - in the correct order! It's so amazing! TANKS, BARNEY!!!

Fun on Friday

We went to a play date on Friday morning at my friend's house. Sophia always has fun when we go there because she loves to play with Kate and Tyler's toys. Tyler has a train table that Sophia just can't get enough of, but this time she mostly played with Kate's nursery station toy (which is single piece of plastic that has something different on each side of it - highchair, crib, changing table, swing).

We left the play date and headed to My Gym for an hour of "free play" and since I had the camera with me I snapped a few of her on some of the different activities. Take a look.

Will had to work through the nights from 3-6AM on Tues, Wed and Thurs this week so Sophia and I tried to be out of the house during the mornings so he could get some sleep. We usually saw him around 2 in the afternoon. It was nice to have some company in the afternoons!

Photos from our day

Here's a link to our Valentine's Day pictures.

We gobbled up the strawberries! YUM

Happy Valentine's Day

We've got a big day planned today.

Sophia and I have swimming classes at 10:45 and then we're going to pick up a dozen chocolate dipped strawberries to surprise Dad with later. It's kind of a tradition in our house. I've gotten the delicious strawberries every year for Valentine's Day dessert since we've lived here - although we've never had to share them with Sophia and we will this year - so maybe I should get 2 dozen. She LOVES strawberries.

Nana got Sophia this coat and I'm so glad she reminded me of it the other day on the phone. I thought Sophia had outgrown it, but she hasn't!!! How perfect is this coat for today?

At 3:30 this afternoon we're going to meet a few of our friends at the local retirement home and and hand out valentine's to the terminally ill ward. That should be fun...! I did 32 valentine's last night and still have 10 more to do before we go. I'm going to put them all in a white basket and have Sophia hand one to each person. We'll see if she calls them Nana and Poppy. That's what she calls everyone she sees that looks "older".

Fun times with Dad.

Sophia was supposed to be posing for a picture in this adorable outfit because it's the first time she's permitted me to put the hat on her head for any length of time. Just as we were about to take a few cute pictures Will came home and and Sophia and Dad let loose. Take a look at the pictures.

What's for dinner?

Cute video of Sophia playing with a balloon and then repeating to Mommy what she's going to have for dinner. Just click on the arrow play button.

Sophia voted

Sophia voted tonight. Well, I should say, I selected the best candidate and she verified my selection and cast my ballot by pushing 2 big green buttons on the monitor. You go girl! And then she proudly wore 3 "I Voted!" stickers to the grocery store.

Update on Mom and Baby Girl

I saw my OB this morning. Everything is moving right along without a hitch. My belly is measuring exactly at 25 weeks (which I will be tomorrow). The little girl's heart beat was in the 150s again though it was hard for the Doc to find it because the little one wouldn't stop moving. The Doc said that she must have been running (left to right) across my belly. Believe me, this one never stops moving. Honestly, I don't feel like Sophia ever moved this much.

Just for a comparison:
Last pregnancy: At 23 weeks I had gained 22 pounds
This pregnancy: At 25 weeks I've gained 16 pounds

Nobody likes BOO BOOS

Of course nobody likes to get BOO BOOS, but Sophia seems to be especially afraid of them! In fact, when I had a band aid on my thumb earlier this week she pointed at it, cried her eyes out and literally said NO NO NO NO over and over. She wouldn't touch my hand until I took it off.

A few weeks ago when she was really into crayons I colored a picture of a spotted dog for her and she was terrified of it for a while. The picture is still hanging on the frig, but now it's up high where she doesn't notice it anymore. When it was hanging at her eye level she would walk by it and almost start crying saying NO BOO BOO NO NO NO. (I thought I did a decent coloring job, but I guess my color choices make the DOGGIE look hideous in her eyes.)

Grancy gave her a pink Boo Boo Bunny at Christmas time and so far she's been afraid of it too. However, she has a small pink bunny that resembles the Boo Boo Bunny (if you pull on the cotton tail, it will HOP across the floor) and she's labeled it her baby dolls' BOO BOO (bunny).

The Mom Test Fable

I was out walking with my 4 year old daughter. She picked up something off the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that. 'Why?' my daughter asked. 'Because it's been on the ground, you don't know where it's been, it's dirty, and probably has germs' I replied. At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and asked, 'Momma, how do you know all this stuff, you are so smart.' I was thinking quickly. 'All moms know this stuff. It's on the Mom Test. You have to know it, or they don't let you be a Mom.' We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new information. 'OH...I get it!' she beamed, 'So if you don't pass the test you have to be the dad. ''Exactly' I replied back with a big smile on my face.

I forgot to tell you

Guess what? On March 5th I get to have another Ultrasound! I found out that pregnant mothers can volunteer as the subject during a "final exam" ultrasound test for a student at our local community college (TCC).

When I called to schedule the appointment they told me to bring a DVD so they can burn all of the images to it and I've heard through the grapevine that they will put music on it too. I will be 28 weeks pregnant by then so we should get a good view and great pictures of the baby. YEA!!!!!

I'm permitted to have 6 adults in the room with me during the exam so if anyone wants to join in the fun, let me know!

Ahhh.....recovery is bliss.

I'm breathing a sigh of relief today. I finally feel better even though I still sound awful and cough a lot. It was nice to have enough energy to carry Sophia down the stairs today instead of scooting down on my butt with her on my lap. Although that act has sparked a renewed interest in Sophia learning to scoot her own butt down the stairs! YEA!! Believe me, she's no lightweight - she's a solid 30 pounds.

I was able to find a play kitchen on craigslist for Sophia and she's been having so much fun with it. She likes to open the cabinet doors and put her dishes inside. I think her favorite thing about the kitchen is the sink - where she does HAPPY (washes her hands). Oh yeah, another favorite thing to do is to walk behind the kitchen and peer through the "window" above the sink where she announces that she's SIDE (outside). Ha ha ha.

She ate breakfast at her "table" this morning. As you can see Barney and Baby Bop have chairs at the table too. Sophia takes turns feeding herself and offering some to her friends. She also decided that Barney needed to wear a baby doll outfit today. Too bad he's got a tail! Click here to see all the pictures.

Our tale of Friday....

I'll try to make this recap short and sweet:

4:00 AM - Sophia is awake! Are you kidding me? You got up at 5:30 AM yesterday, didn't nap at all and then went to bed around 8:30.

4:15 AM - I make a bed on the floor beside Sophia's crib so see if she'll fall back asleep with me in the room.

5:00 AM - Sophia demands to get DOWN and points with her finger to the floor. She wants out of her crib. Not only does she want out of the crib, she wants to go DOWNstairs to watch Barney!

6:00 AM - I try to get on my laptop. No connection.

6:15 AM - I wake up Will to help me get online to see how I can ease Sophia's pain. She's completely stuffed up and her nose is leaking non-stop and her cough sounds really scratchy and painful. He diagnoses that our wireless router is dead! OH MY GOSH...WHAT AM I GOING TO DO ALL DAY WITH A SICK KID AND NO INTERNET. I'LL GO NUTS. I'M PANICKING!!!! Relax, he tells me. You can sit 2 feet from the TV and plug into the cable modem. Um, okay - it that's what I have to do.

8:30 AM - Will leaves for work.

9:00 AM - 1:00 PM - Sophia alternates between crying and moaning, wanting to be held, wanting nothing to do with me. She refuses to eat anything.

1:10 PM - Sophia announces that she wants fries.

1:15 PM - We hop in the car and go to the McDonald's drive through window. I jump in the back seat and try to give her some fries. She throws them at me and all over the car. I notice that her eyes are rolling back into her head because she's sooooo tired. I decide to start driving to see if she'll fall asleep.

1:15 - 3:30 PM - I drive and drive and drive. I literally toured the entire city of Virginia Beach. I even took a detour along the way and hit the Dairy Queen drive through for a cherry chocolate blizzard (the flavor of the month). Not as good as some of the others in my opinion.

3:30 PM - We're home. It's now pouring down rain and Sophia wakes up as soon as we pull into the driveway.

3:30 - 6:00 PM - Barney and the rest is a blur to me.

6:00 PM - Will gets home. Thank goodness. I run out to the store to get a new humidifier for Sophia's room and some more vapor plug ins.

8:00 PM - We decide to give Sophia a bath before bed. She POOPS in the tub! Yep, can you believe it? That was the very first time that's ever happened and it was probably my fault. She didn't want to get a bath, but I knew it would make her sleepy so I told her she could wear a bathing suit in the tub. She must have thought that was "her diaper" and let loose. UGG!

I'm going to end it there, but believe me, it was one of the more interesting and trying days of motherhood.

Full Blown SMS

So, yesterday Sophia woke up well rested and I could tell she was feeling much better. Unfortunately, I was feeling awful. I actually feel worse today: totally drained of energy, stuffy nose, achy, ears are popping, low grade fever, throat hurts, and the list goes on... A definite case of SMS...Sick Mom Syndrome.

Will actually came home early from work yesterday so I could go to the medical center down the street to get tested for strep throat. And, the answer is yes, I have it too. In fact, I think the entire city of Virginia Beach has it. I overheard a mom on the phone yesterday at the medical center and she said that 80% of her son's school has strep.

Yesterday was the first day that Sophia actually took a nap, so I knew that she was feeling better. It was a beautiful 4 hour nap.

Swimming classes started this morning. We went. Sophia had a blast. She was a little unsure about leaning all the way back and getting her hair wet but she was thrilled to sit on the steps and then jump into the water. She also really wants to learn how to blow bubbles, but can't quite figure out how to keep her mouth closed. Today when she tried she took a big gulp of water, but that didn't seem to deter her. I thought all that water play would make her a bit sleepy, but she refused to nap when we got home.

Since it's 75 degrees today we took Sadie to the playground and she almost escaped from me. Well, she did escape. She weaseled her way through a fence and was on the side walk of London Bridge Road by herself! I literally had to pretend I needed help and was shaking the chain link fence to get her attention so she would come back. Once I got her attention I took off running away from her and she dutifully came running to save me. I'm sure Sophia thought our "show" was awesome as she sat in the swing eating her Teddie Grahams.

When we got home, she wanted to watch Barney. I wanted her to go to FEEP. We had a minor battle about it and I won. She went into her crib, screaming and crying, but she went in! She's not napping yet, but I know Mr. Sandman will be dropping by soon for a visit.

Will just called and he left his keys in the car at work this morning and probably needs me to bring him one of our jump start kits. Believe it or not, both of our jump start cables are in the garage instead of in our cars....for various reasons.

Alexander Update

Just wanted to touch base with a quick update.

We took Sophia to Doctor today because it didn't seem like she was getting any better. In fact Friday was the worst day for her (believe me, you want to read about our day which will be blogged about later in the week).

She was diagnosed as the proud owner of strep throat! This was traumatic for all of us considering that is was her first infection/sickness. She's on a liquid bubble gum flavored antibiotic now and it should kick in within the next 24 hours and start working. The doc also told us to give her Motrin to reduce the swelling. Unfortunately, Motrin has always kept Sophia wide awake and I've avoided giving it to her in the past, but I'm going to following the doctor's orders and just deal with the fact that it makes her bounce off the walls. Not that it really matters - she hasn't taken a nap in her crib during the day in over 4 days now.

To top it all off....our wireless router died on Friday morning and if you want to get online in the Alexander household now you must sit on a hard wooden chair or on the floor about 2 feet from the TV and plug directly into the cable modem! Believe me, this is no fun!

Oh yeah, how come nobody ever told me about the SMS....Sick Mom Syndrome? This is when the mom feels like she's getting sick and knows her body will stay strong and fight it until the child is feeling better and then the cold/flu/etc... will hit hard! It is at point this point when child wants to resume all normal activity and the mom is forced to comply.