Sofia Belle [two months]

I can't believe we have a two month old!! In the days & weeks after Sofia was born, time started flying and every day she got a little bit bigger, I got a little bit sadder she wasn't that itty bitty baby I felt like I had just given birth to. Then around 3 weeks, I noticed she was noticing us, getting more of a little personality and now she smiles at me!! She can be on the verge of tears (as long as she's not hungry-can't blame her, no one is funny when I'm hungry) and I'll make a silly face/sound effect and she'll smile!! It is the best. 

So although she isn't that teeny tiny newborn anymore, I love so much the person she is becoming and the person she has made me.

[two month update]

stats: 11lbs. 8oz. (55%) & 23 inches (75%) at her two month appointment yesterday.

eating: Girlfriend still loves eating. She eats about every 3 hours during the day and can go for longer stretches at night now! Holla!

sleeping: She goes to bed around 9pm and wakes up around 3-4am, eats, goes back to sleep until 6-7am, eats and goes back to sleep until 8:30-9:30am, then she's ready to partay! Her nap schedule during the day is much more inconsistent. 

likes: eating, bath time, country music (we were watching something on TV the other night and country music was playing and all of a sudden Sofia is dancing around in her boppy, making all kinds of happy noises), looking at Christmas lights, reading her Sofia the First books, and being in the Baby Bjorn.

dislikes: when bath time is over, getting shots (she got her two month shots yesterday and was not a happy camper all day), and when Kobe barks after the doorbell rings. 

Twenty-Six.

Since I turned 26 eight days ago, I thought I'd share 26 facts about myself, because why the heck not?!

Sofia and I hanging out this morning. So it's applicable to this post, right?

1. I am so sooooooooo afraid of bugs and rodents. I wasn't always like this. I had a pet hamster as a kid for crying out loud. But now I have dreams nightmares about bugs invading our house and over a month ago Erik saw a mouse in our backyard and I haven't been out there since. 

2. I really like being short(ish)-I'm 5'4" and a half. I can wear heels and still be shorter than Erik and can easily fit into small spaces (and suitcases).

3. I think teeth and feet (specifically toenails) are disgusting. On a related note, I was at H&M with my mom a couple weekends ago and the cashier said I had pretty teeth, which is odd for many reasons, but mostly because I barely had my mouth open. My mom was the one checking out and talking to him-I was just standing oblivious on my phone. 

4. I stopped drinking coffee while I was pregnant and can't drink it anymore, but I so badly want to, I try at least once a week and immediately regret it the second I start getting that jittery feeling. I know, I know I could drink decaf, but eeehhhhhhheee.

5. My favorite show is Shark Tank.

6. Also Vanderpump Rules and Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce and Ellen.

7. I am SUCH A SAP. I literally never used to cry and now I cry at least once a week-and I'm not even sad!! I'm just way more emotional than I ever used to be. I blame the pregnancy hormones that must still be lingering.

8. Eight is my favorite number. I was born on December 8, 1988 at 8:22-so yeah, 8 is my jam.

9. My least favorite food is raisins. It's really the only food I can't stand to eat, although I say I hate a lot more foods than that-it drives Erik nuts!!!

10. One of my favorite pastimes is annoying Erik. Sometimes he tells stories reeeeeeally slowly, so I interject and finish the story with what I think he's about to say. Although, I know it's never what he's about to say, just something I find to be hilarious and ridiculous. 

11. Speaking of being hilarious and ridiculous, I find myself to be hilarious, but most people would say I'm just ridiculous. 

12. My car was stolen 2 years ago and was later found at a border checkpoint with 100 pounds of marijuana in it. The women driving it had NO IDEA there was weed in the car. Imagine that!!!!!

13. I hated buying a new car. 

14. Naming a baby was a lot harder than I expected. We decided on Sofia's name less than 2 weeks before she was born. One of her names prior to that was Mila, until Erik discovered that was the name of our neighbor's dog.

15. I never knew how much love I was capable of until I met Sofia. 

16. I'll never forget how I felt in the days I first met Erik, those are some of my best memories.

17. I think I was an animal that lived near the water in my past life (yes, I truly believe in past lives) and was friends with the fishes. I mean my fiancé is an aquarius and my best friend is a pisces. 

18. I love cooking.

19. I can't stand when people don't give the courtesy wave!!! 

20. I wish I had a better sense of style, but the older I get, the more I accept that's never going to happen.

21. I'm very patient and optimistic. Because being anything else is really just ruining your quality of life.

22. Twenty-two was a big year for me! I graduated college, moved to Tucson to live with Erik, and started my teaching career. Before graduating, I honestly wasn't sure if I was going to move to Tucson (I saw a psychic and she told me I was going to) but it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

23. Rap music is my favorite. 

24. Neutrals are my favorite color, but if you ask me I'll tell you purple is my favorite because saying "neutrals" is kind of weird, right?

25. I'm a little weird and a little crazy, which Erik reminds me every now and then, but I quickly remind him, he'd be bored if I was any other way.

26. I couldn't love my little family more, they are the best things that ever happened to me!!

xoxo

Farewell Twenty-Five, You Were Great!!

Is this not the greatest birthday gal picture ever. I shall use it for all eternity. 

I can't believe it, but today I am turning 26 years old! 

As I think back over the past year, I'd have to say 25 has been the best yet. As I rang in my 25th with an 80's Birthday Bash, I had no idea all the goodness to come in the year ahead. Between getting engaged and having a baby, 25 was filled with excitement and surprises. So, farewell twenty-five, you were great and I cannot wait to see what 26 brings!

5 | Oh Yeah, I'm Getting Married

Oh Hey, Friday! Nice to see you again! With all things baby recently, you I may have forgotten I'm getting married in just over six months. When Erik and I got engaged in February, June 2015 seemed like an eternity away, but now it's right around the corner. Funny how that happens. So today I bring you 5 of the 187 things I still need to do.

1 | Send invites.  I guess we want people to actually attend our wedding, right? It took us long enough to send out Save the Dates, who knows when the actual invite will go out. And I'm just now recovering from writing addresses on nearly 100 envelopes and licking all those stamps. Did you know when Erik and I finally sat down to send out our Save the Dates he said his job would be to "lick the stamps." What is this 1995?! He really, really thought you still had to lick stamps. Oh, my future husband.

There's our Save the Date. We make a cute wine glass and bottle, huh? Also, don't know why I said I was writing addresses on envelopes, seeing as this is a POSTCARD.

2 | Food.  I would say I could just send this blog post to everyone on our guest list and call it a day. But I suppose part of the reason you need to send out wedding invites is to conduct a small survey of what people want to eat. Except we haven't decided what food will be served. So there goes half the invitation. But the important thing is that there will be an open bar. 

3 | Find a wedding dress.  Oh right, that thing I'm supposed to wear. Not only have I not started looking for a wedding dress, I have no idea what style dress I want to wear. I do watch Say Yes To The Dress anytime I happen to catch it on TV, that counts for something, right? I'd also like to be in better shape before I start wedding dress shopping, which brings me to number 4...

4 | Stop eating like I'm pregnant.  You know, it's really hard to do something for 9 months and then just stop cold turkey. Mmmmmm turkey, Thanksgiving, pumpkin pie. You see what I mean? My mom told me yesterday I was "just as skinny" as I was before I was pregnant. Then later she asked if the jeans I was wearing were pre-pregancy jeans. Ummmmm I thought I was just as skinny as I was before I was pregnant?! Gotcha there, Mom. 

I made this for breakfast the other morning. Ooops. 

5 | Cake, flowers, officiant, tuxedos.  All minor details. And if you're following along closely, you probably noticed no where did I mention bridesmaid dresses. I gave that responsibly to my bridesmaids. Genius! I sent out a "very confusing" (their words, not mine) mass text one morning telling my "easily confused" bridesmaids they would get to pick out their own dress and shoes. Takes the pressure on me, puts it on them. But hey, now no one can be mad they don't like their dress! 

Okay now that this post has throughly stressed me out, I'm off to wedding plan. Just kidding. Probably make another bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit.

Sofia Belle [one month]

I can't believe Sofia is one month old! But I also can barely remember our lives before her. She is the best and getting more and more of a little personality everyday, which I love! 

When Erik got home from work yesterday and Sofia heard his voice, she turned to him and her eyes lit up.
Already such a Daddy's girl.

oh you like my white onesie? well it doesn't exist anymore because of the massive poo explosion I had two minutes after mom was done taking photos -- hey at least I waited until she was done! 

[one month update]

stats: Her last doctor appointment was when she was two weeks old, at that time she was 7lbs 7oz & 21 inches. I'm positive she is close to 10lbs now, no joke. 

eating: Girlfriend loves eating. She eats every 2-3 hours during the day and about the same at night.

sleeping: She is awake a lot more during the day which is fun because she is so much more alert and interactive! She naps more in the afternoon now and the evening has definitely become her fussy time... but it's nothing a bath and a swaddle can't fix! Last night she set a personal record and slept for 5 hours straight!! (from 10pm-3am) Keep it up girl! ;)

likes: eating, bath time, white noise, music (trying to get her to like music more than white noise because mom & dad aren't quite the white noise fans Sofia is), pulling mom's hair, bouncing (I'm going to get Michelle Obama arms from bouncing this nugget around so much).

dislikes: the 3 seconds it takes to get out of the bathtub and into a towel, when she was hungry 5 minutes ago and you didn't know it, being swaddled with her arms down.

Sneak Peek: Sofia's Newborn Photos

Oh hey, it's Wednesday! Formerly known around here as Humpday Bumpday. Speaking of the ol' baby bump, I miss it a little. Not miss it like I wish I was still pregnant, maybe miss it more like I'm just being nostalgic. Does that make sense? No? Yes? No. Okay, moving on. We had maternity photos done with Kristin Anderson a couple months ago and loved her and our photos so much, we knew she had to photograph ze babay. She sent over our sneak peek yesterday, and I know this is my child so I am very biased, but I am obsessed and had to share! 

Happy Humpday! 

Sofia's Birth Story Part II

Towards the end of my pregnancy, one of my coworkers asked me if I had had a relatively easy pregnancy. Why yes, I had! She told me that meant I was in for a difficult labor.  Of course, this is what every pregnant lady wants to hear weeks before giving birth, but I can't say she wasn't wrong. In case you missed it, you an catch up on part one here. 

After deciding it was baby time, I was hooked up to an IV and a nurse came to take me from triage to the delivery room. My nurse was Crystal and she was a SAINT. When we got to the delivery room Crystal asked me a bunch of questions, none of which I remember except for, "Who did you choose as your pediatrician?" and "This is a stupid question, but on a scale of 1-10, how much pain are you in?" Obviously it was clear to Crystal that the answer to that was ELEVEN. 

Because of said pain, Crystal quickly got the anesthesiologist to come in and give me the epidural. How women are able to give birth without an epidural is beyond me. You go girl.
It was around 8PM at this time, I was started on pitocin, and my parents were finally able to come in and visit.
Around 10pm, Crystal came back to check me and I was 5cm dilated. Wooo making moves, people! Between 10pm and 1am there was a lot of attempted napping, ice cube eating, and epidural wearing-offing. Because of the way Sofia was laying (head down, face up) there was one part of my tummy I could still feel tighten every time I had a contraction, and it was getting progressively more painful.
At 1:30am when Crystal checked me, not only was I 10cm but my water had broken. News to me! As I couldn't feel a thing down there.
However, she also noticed I had a fever and the baby's heart rate was elevated. She thought Sofia might have some sort of infection and started me on antibiotics. Although hearing Sofia could have some kind of infection made me nervous, deep down I knew everything was going to be okay.
Now it was time to push. And push. And push. And push.
It's also worth noting that around this time Mad Money was on TV and my mom decided it was "too stressful" to be watching and she got up and quickly changed the channel to something more calming-a slideshow of oceans and beaches with zen music in the background. Sometimes I'll be up feeding Sofia at 3am now and catch part of Mad Money and it will always take me back to this moment. (And I can clearly see why my mother thought it was necessary to change the channel-dude has got a lot of energy!!)
However, I started feeling really discouraged after literally hours of pushing and seemingly no progression. I got to a point where I started to think, "Why isn't anyone suggesting a c-section?!" But Erik, my mom, and Crystal were so supportive and encouraging the entire time.
Then finally, right before 5am, Crystal said it was time to call the doctor in. (The baby was crowning!) She also said several doctors from the NICU were going to come in because Sofia would have to be taken there for a few hours after she was born, due to her possible infection.
I pushed 3-4 more times after the doctor came in and I will never ever forget the moment Sofia came out and they placed her on my belly. I will never forget the way she looked or felt. I looked up at Erik and he was crying, and I looked down at Sofia and thought, this is my baby! 
After they cleaned her up, I got to hold her for a few more minutes before she moved to the NICU.

 Sofia Belle 6lbs. 15 oz., 20.5 inches of perfection. 

Our first family photo.

After spending 6 hours in the NICU, Sofia ended up being just fine! And not to sound like a total cliche but, I would do this all over again ten thousand times if it meant I got to be this girl's mama.
We love you so much, Sofia!! 

Sofia's Birth Story Part I

Sofia's birth was nothing like I had imagined. Not like I imagined it very much because it was all very surreal and a little bit scary to think about. I didn't have a birth plan. But I did plan to hold off on the epidural as long as possible. (HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!)

On Wednesday, October 15 I went to bed having some cramping. As the night went on, I realized these must be contractions! Imagine that! And around 4:30am I decided to download an app that would track how far apart they were. They got to be 6 minutes apart and then around 8am they stopped. Completely. I had my 39 week doctor appointment scheduled for 10am that day, so I decided to wait it out until then. Erik and I went on a walk and I bounced on my yoga ball trying to get the contractions to start again, but no such luck. 

So 10am rolls around and Erik & I go to the doctor where we find out I am 2cm dilated and 50% effaced. This was a 1cm progression from the week prior. The doctor asked if I wanted my membranes stripped. I asked if it hurt. She said yes and I said yes. It's worth noting it did not hurt as much as it was uncomfortable and did not hurt nearly as much as the contractions it surely caused. 

Because nothing really seemed to be happening, Erik decided to go into work for the rest of the day and I headed home. But by the time I got back home (which is less than 10 minutes from the doctor) my contractions had started again. Nothing too cray cray but I started tracking them on my trusty app. I also went to Tarjay because I really wanted to make some banana bread. Spoiler alert: the banana bread never happened.

Around 2pm my contractions were less than 5 minutes apart and I called Erik and told him he should probably come home. We got to the hospital a little before 3, and lo and behold I was still 2cm. Around 3:30, the nurse suggested I try walking for an hour. At this point my contractions were so close together and so painful, walking was nearly impossible. As Erik and I walked the halls of the hospital I told him maybe one kid is enough?! Tonight during dinner I said 3 kids sounded great! Back to the "walking." It was painful and seemed impossible. I gave up in less than an hour. 

The nurse checked me again at 4:30 and I was still only 2cm but my cervix was thinning out she said. I became one of those ladies that screamed through my contractions and I told Erik over and over "I can't do this." I have quite the high pain tolerance (I thought) but contractions are a different beast. It seemed like the pain was never going to end and I was forgetting about the greatest gift that was about to come. However, at some point I came to my senses and told Erik, maybe I should start saying, "I can do this!" You know, put some positive vibes out in the universe. I also told the nurse, "I'm usually much more friendly than this."

At 5:30 the nurse came back and said she could give me some morphine. This would help with the pain and also put me to sleep. Neither of which happened. But about an hour later, she came back and said the doctor on-call said I could be admitted (I'd been in triage) and would be induced in 2 hours if I didn't dilate more on my own or I could go home and wait it out there. After talking to Erik and my mom, I decided to stay. It was baby time!! 

A Week of Sofia

Good morning, party people! It's me, Sofia! I've been living outside the womb for a week now, so I thought I'd share some of the highlights.  My dad says all I do is eat, eat, eat but I promise I'm much more exciting than that.

For example, I may be the world's cutest Seahawks fan. Despite my adorbs outfit and cheering, they lost on Sunday. Next time, boys.

On Monday, I had my first real outing. I went to the doctor! I would have picked something a lil more exciting for my first outing, but mom and dad seemed to insist. At least mom tried to jazz things up a bit and put me in this festive outfit. Things are looking grand in the health department for me. While I was at the doctor they got me nakey and weighed me, I thought this was a great time to go pee. It's so fun peeing without a diaper on, I've tried it multiple times since then!!

Mom and Dad took me for my first walk around the 'hood but I couldn't be bothered, this was an excellent time to nap. At least they got my good side in the pictures. 

Some of my other favorites include, but are not limited to... 

Cuddling with my dad. I love love love this! It's probably my most favorite thing ever. I think I love it more than peeing without my diaper on, but maybe not quite as much as I love eating. 

Taking baths. Mostly because I get wrapped up in the most awesome towels when I'm done.

Being a fashionista.

I hear this thing called Halloween is coming and Mom & Dad insisted we get pumpkins. Again, I couldn't be bothered.

Story time is another one of my faves. I love Goodnight Moon and books about Halloween.

And last but not least! My newest favorite thing, the MamaRoo! Mom decided I had to have it, and wow am I sure glad she did! It bounces around in all kinds of fun ways and makes sounds that remind me of being in the womb; which mom & dad can't figure out why I like so much, they're so simple minded.

Happy Saturday, new friends!!

Welcome to the World, Sofia Belle!

On Friday, October 17, at 4:50am Sofia Belle graced us with her presence.  She is the spitting image of Erik (she even has his blood type!) but I can't be too mad because he makes a pretty cute gal. ;)

There are no words to describe the love that has consumed me.

xoxo

Humpday Bumpday: 39 Weeks

Hey guys, I'M STILL PREGNANT. And humongous. Someone told me the other day I looked like an egg.  My due date is Sunday, but I'm not quite convinced baby girl is ready to make her debut.  My doctor likes to say things like, "You won't be pregnant forever" and "She really likes her home in there."  I've also had a feeling from about halfway through my pregnancy that she was going to be late. Call it a mother's intuition, but I'm still pretty convinced it to be true. The lunch lady at our school did tell me today though that the baby is coming soon because she's dropping soooooo maybe I'm wrong? I'm quite the planner, so this whole unknown waiting thing is just not my forte. I know she'll come when she's ready, but baby gal, let's go!! You have so many cute clothes to wear, people to meet, oh and YOU HAVE A NAME!!! But you've heard that last one before and it didn't end up being true... so I understand if you're skeptical. 

How far along: 39 weeks

Gender: GIRL! 

Weight gain: 36 lbs. 

Maternity clothes: I clearly really like this striped dress, I don't even want to go back and count how many of these photos I'm rockin' it in.

Stretch marks: No

Belly button in or out: I think we can officially declare it an outtie at this point. 

Sleep: People keep telling me "get all the sleep you can now."  Easier said than done at 9 months pregnant, people! 

Best moment this week: Erik read a book to baby girl last night and it was the cutest thing. When he got done, he said SHE NEEDS MORE BOOKS!! :)

Miss anything: When I could see my feet, bending over without almost ripping my pants (yes, that almost happened at work yesterday).

Happy or Moody: Happy! 

Movement: She really surprises me sometimes with how much she can still wiggle around in there. Future gymnast?

Cravings: Considering the excessive amount of cheese I ate today, I'm gonna have to go with cheese. 

Symptoms: I HAVE CANKLES. 

Looking forward to: My dr. appointment tomorrow to see if baby A has any plans of gracing us with her presence in the near future. 

xoxo

Humpday Bumpday: 38 Weeks

I was stalking my own Instagram yesterday when I came across a picture I posted at 32 weeks. I had captioned it #howcanmybellygetanybigger. HA! Baby got the last laugh.  

How far along: 38 weeks

Gender: GIRL! 

Weight gain: 34 lbs. 

Maternity clothes: Ready to kiss these bad boys goodbye!!

Stretch marks: Nope

Belly button in or out: I still wouldn't call it an "official" outie, but it has its moments. 

Sleep: I'm usually awake for 2 hours in the middle of the night. Trying to get comfortable. Debating if I'm hungry enough to get out of bed for a midnight snack. Thinking of ways to rearrange my classroom.

Best moment this week: We have a short work week this week... hellllllllllo 3 day weekend!!

Miss anything: I could really go for a pumpkin beer

Happy or Moody: Happy! 

Movement: She is most definitely running out of room in there. Her big rolls are turning into nudges and pokes. Although, as I'm typing this, she's trying her darndest to make some major moves.

Cravings: Pizza, pumpkin bread. Sooooooooooo much pumpkin bread. 

Symptoms: Heartburn.

Looking forward to: The upcoming 3 day weekend!! This could potentially be our last baby-free weekend!

Happy Humpday!