I love your smile

Ok, so I know that as her parents, it's impossible for us to be objective; but honestly...

... she's the most beautiful thing in our world.

Super Trooper

"Look at her- it's like she's saying, 'Bring it on!'"

And that's what the nurse said after giving Sophie four separate shots at the doctor's today. On top of the standard 6-month ones, we also opted to have her vaccinated for the seasonal flu and H1N1. We were prepared for the visit to be so unpleasant, but lo and behold, Sophie was such a tough cookie and squawked for about a second after each shot before going back to chewing on her toy giraffe ("I mean, what's some pain compared to making sure I get drool all over this thing?...") I think it stunned every one in the room and we're so proud of her! :)

This is our daughter

Sitting pretty :)
Originally uploaded by ghetto of our mind

This is our daughter. We love her to bits. She can sit up on her own. She loves her chew toys. She appreciates cauliflower more than her mother does. She loves to suck on her toes. She hates peas. She gets distracted by flashing screens. She blows raspberries. She has not encountered anything she did not try to put in her mouth first (including our shower curtain, her father's glasses, and her mother's nose). She screams. She weighs 16 pounds. She thinks rolling from tummy to back and back again should be an Olympic sport. She's getting her 6-month shots tomorrow. She has no hair. She gives good snuggles. She loves to take baths. she doesn't understand why socks are not ingestible. She smiles and we are putty in her hands.

This is our daughter. We love her to bits :)

I'm going to be wiping puréed peas off my face in no time...

All better

A day of cheeky faces
Originally uploaded by ghetto of our mind

Thanks to everyone who's been so concerned about Sophie and asking after her all this week. We're happy to report that our little punkin' is finally on the upswing. Even though she's still coughing and there's obviously still a bit of congestion going on, she's come a long way from the sniffly, teary, whimpering mess that she was early this week. It'll probably be another week or so before she's completely recovered but we'll take what we can get and right now, we're just glad to have Sophie operating at about 80% of her regular fabulous self. Most importantly, she's eating well (that bowl of sweet potato/apple/rice cereal didn't stand a chance against our daughter at dinner time...) and sleeping better than she's ever done before. Getting better is hard work and I guess Sophie's just needing all the rest she can get...

Welcome back, my love- Mama and Daddy have missed you!

Hate is such a strong word, but I do hate you, RSV...

I miss our daughter's smiles... :(

So Sophie's been down with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) since Friday and it's been awful. Dr. Youssef diagnosed her with it at her 6-month check-up (which is why we haven't gotten her shots) and told us that it would get worse before it got better. She really wasn't kidding... The weekend was horrible with Sophie developing a worsening cough and congestion, a low-grade fever, watery eyes, and raspy breathing. She was such a mess and our hearts broke for our poor punkin'- it's like she didn't know what hit her and was just so helpless from the discomfort. And she gave out these pitiful whines and whimpers just in case we didn't already know she was hurting... We kept her at home from daycare yesterday because she seemed like she just needed Mama and Daddy close by, and lots of snuggles, on top of fluids like water and breastmilk. There's technically no medication for RSV- we just have to wait it out and let Sophie's immune system do its job. I've given her baby paracetamol for her fever but nothing else apart from that.

Dr. Youssef says that Days 5 or 6 are when the symptoms will peak and then they'll plateau and then diminish over a week or so. We're at Day 5 now so hopefully it can only go uphill from here. While her physical ailments seem to be improving somewhat (no more fever and improved coughing), she's still not her usual happy, cheery self. Fighting a virus and dealing with all that congestion without being able to sneeze it out is hard work and Sophie's just been a little moody and listless. Not a happy camper, I'm afraid... I miss how easy it was to make her smile- all it took was me waving at her or kissing her fingers. Jude could make her laugh just by looking at her and clapping... Even her teachers commented today that they too miss her squeals and shrieks. Sophie's smiles and laughs have become such an important part of our day that I'm feeling their absence so much it almost hurts :(

Boo RSV! Go away and give us our baby back!...

Just because we're not home...

...doesn't mean Sophie doesn't get to wish everyone 恭喜发财, 老虎年快乐!
Happy Lunar New Year!!

Daddy's home

Daddy's home
Originally uploaded by ghetto of our mind

Jude's home. And all is good in the world again :)

I have to say, parenting alone these last 6 days has given me revived respect for single parents or people who raise their children without their partners nearby. I can only imagine the patience and fortitude it takes. It was a tad overwhelming, I have to admit, looking after Sophie alone, even with daycare thrown in. It didn't help that of all the weekends in Month 6, Sophie chose the weekend Daddy wasn't around to have her 6-month growth spurt AND to start teething. She was ravenous, nursing almost every 2 hours including through the night, was especially clingy and needy, and didn't sleep well. I was constantly hungry and thirsty from feeding her so much (during one of her naps, I swear I downed half a carton of juice and half a banana bread...) and thoroughly exhausted from her night wakings. During a particularly fussy 3am feeding when Sophie simultaneously tried to nurse while screaming her little lungs out from what I imagine were her gums aching AND after having already fed her 3 times since I put her down to sleep at 7.30pm, I thought I was going to lose it...

Thankfully, that went as quickly as it came and she was back to her normal feeding schedule after a day and a half. Her onesies have gotten a tad snug after the milk fest and she seems a little longer too... We have her 6-month check-up tomorrow so we'll see how much she's grown. The teething saga continued though and she was still a little fussy at bedtime. But for some reason, tonight's been a lot better- she's seems calmer almost and put herself to sleep after waking up crying. I'd like to think that she somehow gets that her Daddy's home and that things are back to normal. She was constantly craning her neck to look at Jude while I was nursing her before bedtime; it was as if she was checking to make sure that he was still around and not going anywhere anytime soon. Plus Daddy and her clocked in some good snuggles this evening when we came home after playgroup to find Jude waiting for us. She shot him the widest smile ever and it was so very, very sweet... Yes punkin', your Daddy's home :)

This does not bode well for her developing a taste for ice-kacang...

1. I'm not sure about this, Sandra..., 2. Ok, just one bite..., 3. Here goes!..., 4. Ewwww... ppppft!

Snow day!

1. Alright Lucy, let's do this together!, 2. Many firsts!!!, 3. All comfy in her sled, 4. Hanging out with Lucy in the snow

In anticipation of Valentine's Day

I'm so loving this simple, charming, surprising, and just all-round lovely Google ad that played during the Superbowl on Sunday night. It manages to capture more heart in 52 seconds than most Holllywood romantic comedies do in 120 minutes. And as I sit here at my desk at home, with the house all to myself for the first time in 6 months, the video's also making me miss the other two-thirds of me quite a little bit...

Guess who got a surprise "birthday" party?

It was meant to be an innocent play date with the Pothen ladies. Jude's in Savannah for a conference and so we thought it would be good for us to schedule a couple of play dates this weekend to get Sophie out and about and not missing her Daddy. And so imagine our (okay, my) surprise when we arrive at Liz & Dan's to find that they'd planned a party of sorts to celebrate Sophie turning 6-months old tomorrow!! It was such an unbelievably sweet gesture and I appreciate it so very very much! There were Happy Birthday balloons on the wall, a string of balloons spelling out Sophie's name, they had brought out all their soft toys so Sophie could play with them, and Divya even dressed up in her princess outfit most appropriate for a celebration :) And there were also birthday waffles with homemade blueberry sauce that Dan made- a treat it would seem just for the special occasion. In return, Sophie busted out all her smiles, giggles, and laughs and dispensed them generously to everyone who came into her line of vision :) I'm sure she felt very loved and everyone had a terrific time. Thanks SO MUCH, Liz, Dan, Hannah, & Divya!! :)


1. It was a playdate that turned into a surprise 6-month birthday party for Sophie!!, 2. Hannah hugs, 3. Sweet girls :), 4. Guess who's sitting up on her own??!!, 5. How nice!, 6. Smiles all round, 7. Party hat for the "birthday girl", 8. Chaneling the Slim Shady, 9. Birthday waffles!

School(house) rocks!

I love school- I really do! I don't know why Mama and Daddy were sad the first day they dropped me off- Gretchen's House is so awesome and I love all my friends and teachers there. See me here getting my feet all squishy with paint for feet-painting- I had so much fun! Mom so needs to get some of these for the house so I can start channeling my inner Jackson Pollock :)


And my baby friends are too cool- I mean, I love Mama and Daddy and all, but sometimes, they just don't *get* me... Pooping, eating my toes, the pleasures of burping milk- what do they know? Lucy, Payton, and Isabel on the other hand- we have long, involved conversations about the best way to chew on our socks every time we do some tummy time together. Girlfriends- they rock.




Let's not forget my teachers- Sandra plays silly games with me and Erin's the best when it comes to changing my diapers. I've gotten really used to them now and love giving them "Good morning" smiles whenever I see them in the morning. They both call me "Soph" and give me the awesomest cuddles when I'm missing Daddy and Mama.



Apparently, my teachers think I'm doing really good in school too. This is what they wrote in my daily report yesterday (which made my parents really proud...):

"Sophie had another terrific day! She's been doing great with her naps! For her 2nd and 3rd naps of the day, we just laid her in her crib when she started to act tired and she put herself right to sleep. We're so proud of her! Also, Sophie's been such a social butterfly. Today, she joined us for a small staff meeting. She just sat with us quiet and alert the whole time like she was part of the meeting!"

I'm not sure what a social butterfly is-- is it any different from a regular butterfly?-- but from the way Mama was beaming, I'm thinking it's not a bad thing. So yes, school- I'm loving it. My parents hope this bodes well for my prospects of higher education, which I guess is where I go to learn how to count. For now though, I'm still working on sitting up on my own...

The beginning of the end

The last time Lost was on TV...
1) The weather outside was above 50 degrees.
2) We slept 8- to 10-hour stretches uninterrupted.
3) Frozen milk was a foreign concept.
4) I cooked.
5) Sophie was the size of a cauliflower.

Alright, bring it on...

[click for enlarged version of this awesome Last Supper-esque teaser pic]

Our weekend

It was just one of those weekends- exhausting and exhilarating all at the same time. On the yucky side, Jude and I both came down with a vicious stomach flu. Friday night saw me slouched in the bathroom, practically hugging the toilet as I threw my entire dinner out, and then some... Let's just say, macaroni tastes a lot better going down than coming up. I barely slept Friday night and was too queasy and weak to even support Sophie for her night feeds. Jude had to carry her and bring her to me in bed. We thought we might have to mobilize our emergency stash of breastmilk in the freezer since I couldn't keep anything- food or liquids-- down and was worried that I wouldn't be producing enough milk; but thank god, that never happened. I saw the doctor but she said there's basically nothing she could give me that wouldn't in turn affect Sophie so I just had to let my immune system kick in get me better on its own. And so the weekend saw Jude and I 1) eating a copious amount of toast which was the only thing that settled in our stomachs that didn't threaten to propel itself back out; and 2) sneaking in as much sleep as we could-- whenever Sophie slept, we all slept. As Jude said, "A family that naps together stays together..." ;)

On the plus side though, Sophie decided that this was the weekend to accomplish a whole bunch of exciting developmental milestones!: 1) She can now sit unassisted for a few seconds (!) before veering to one side and falling headlong onto her toes (then proceeding to chew on her sock...); 2) She's finally rolling from stomach to back, which makes me so relieved since she's been taking to sleeping on her tummy and at least now I know she can roll back if she needs to; 3) She's taking to solid foods ravenously like her parents always suspected she would; 4) She's now moved on to her Stage 3 Adiri bottles as she nears her 6-month birthday; and 5) We think she's comprehending our ASL sign for "up"- every time we're about to pick her up, we sign "up" so that she associates the sign with the action. She always looks intently at our hands so we hope she can soon sign that back to us whenever she wants to be picked up. We'll also be working on "milk" and "more"- wish us luck on that! Imagine how much I had to write on her chart when we dropped her off at school today just so her teachers can take note of them as she goes about her day :)

We're loving every second of Sophie turning 6-months- everyday is a discovery, some new thing she's doing- a new expression, some new sound, a new gesture, and of course the many, many smiles, giggles and cuddles she's been generously dispensing these past few weeks. It blows my mind just thinking of all the profoundly wondrous processes that are going through her little brain and body every second of the day as they help her mature. It must take so much out of her. Just getting over a bug knocked her Mama out the entire weekend but our pumpkin not only accomplished so much but still managed to stay beautiful and adorable while doing it! Go sunshine- you rock our world!