it's in the details

You probably thought the Baptism posts were behind us. If so, you thought wrong. I've been wanting to do one final post about three special details of the day but have been waiting for a few pictures I needed. So, here it is, the final baptism post about some special details from the day.

First, a little about Sophia's Godparents, Sophia's Godmother is Kristen Law, Carl's sister, and her Godfather is David Distelhorst, Karen's oldest brother. Carl and I thought long and hard about who we wanted to be Sophia's Godparents. It was very important to us that they be people of faith who could share with Sophia about their faith journey and support her on hers. Kristen and David have had different experiences, struggles, and joys on their faith journey. They are two very special people to her mom and dad and we are glad they are willing to support Sophia and share with her about their journey.
The priest who baptised Sophia is a very important to her parents. Alan Gates has supported Carl and I during many of our joyous times and many of our more challenging times. He led us through premarital counseling and performed our wedding ceremony. He has provided counsel to us when we were challenged by difficult jobs. He has supported us as we took on directing Reading Camp through the church. He has been a great support to us and is someone we truly admire and respect, we were delighted that he baptised our daughter!

I couldn't finish the baptism posts without sharing the story of Sophia's dress. Not only was Sophia's dress beautiful on her it has a very special story behind it. The dress was hand made by her Great-Grandmother's Step-Aunt who was very special to her Great-Grandma. It was first worn by Sophia's Nana for her baptism. The dress and hat Sophia wore were also worn by her mom for her baptism. The socks and shoes were brand new, just for Sophia. I love that now three generations have worn this beautiful, handmade dress! I hope it survives for future generations!

sitting pretty

Look at my big girl sitting in her rocking chair! I swear just last week she would have fallen over if I put her in her chair and now she is sitting up all on her own! Slow down little lady!

hazards of being a mom

You might end up with spit up....in your hair.....

No more baby airplane in the morning...or possibly ever...

and yes my husband laughed. a lot. it was kind of funny.

4 months

My sweet baby girl is 4 months old! I know I say it (and will probably continue to say it) every month but I can't believe how fast she is growing! It feels like just yesterday her daddy and I brought her home from the hospital. So much has changed since that first day home.

Sophia is so much more aware of the world these days!

What's that over there mom??!!

She is such a happy girl with a smile that just lights up the room!

Now that Sophia is awake more often we are able to do a lot more things! The weather has warmed up a lot over the last few weeks and we've been getting out and taking walks. This girl loves walks!! She especially likes when the breeze hits her face. She makes the sweetest smile. The other day we tried out the swings at the elementary school behind our house. They were so big for her but she loved it! We'll have to try and find some more Sophia sized swings.

There were many special events for Sophia this month: she was baptised, met her great grandma, met mommy's wonderful friend, Erin, went on a bird walk...

4 months has also brought on some sleep issues. Our awesome sleeper has had some "sleep regression." We're not sure if it is her age, mommy's return to work, a combination... but we are working on it!

At 4 months Sophia:

• weighs 13lbs 9ozs-50% and is 23 3/4"-30%


• wears a few size 0-3 month and some 3-6 month (she is in between because of the length)


• Eats 5 times a day and 1 time at night (sometimes 2 if mommy was at work that day--we like to hold out for the good stuff)


• Takes 4 naps a day with bedtime at 7pm and wake up at 7am


• is not happy taking a bottle but we are working on it!


• smiles a lot!


• laughs, shrieks and babbles


• lakes to taste test everything :) if it is near her mouth it will be sucked on


• loves to suck and chew on her fingers


• has found her thumb


• has rolled over from front to back but doesn't do it on a regular basis yet


• is starting to discover the toys on her jumperoo


• loves to stand, with someone holding her of course :)
  
  
  

who me?

I'm not sucking on my thumb mom! I promise. You must have me confused with some other baby.

Sophia found her thumb recently! If she's still sucking on it when we send her off to Kindergarten we may think it's less cute but right now it is about the cutest thing ever.

Don't worry. I haven't forgot about her 4 month post! It is in the works. We are going to the doctor's today so I am waiting for her official 4 month stats. Hope everyone has a wonderful Friday!

poor engineering

This post is dedicated to Uncle Blakely, oops I mean, Uncle Blake, or is it Uncle Bleary? ha inside joke some may understand.

There is a fatal flaw in Sophia's jungle playmat. Her 4 month old strength is enough to take it down. (no babies or toys were injured in the incident)

I wear my sunglasses at night

I was trying these sunglasses on Sophia and I just couldn't help myself, had to get a picture. She is too cute. Unfortunately the sunglasses aren't my favorite. They have the stretchy strap I like but the frame is so hard it pinches her face.

On another note, I had this fabulous post about Sophia's baptism party that I swear I posted yesterday but when I checked the blog today it was gone. So, once I have the energy to recreate it I will repost. --it just reappeared so strange.

Party Time!

Weekend posts not finished yet! There's still the party to talk about!

After Sophia's baptism we had a fabulous luncheon for her at my parent's house! My parents were so gracious to let us use their place for the party. Our house, while perfect for our little family of 3, is not big enough for a 30+ person party.

We had a yummy lunch of pulled pork from our favorite local farm, New Creations, and an amazing cake made by Sophia's Grandma.

Sophia's dad helped her out and cut the cake for her. She decided to wait a few years before wielding a knife.

We had a gorgeous day so friends and family were able to spread out all over the house, porch, and patio. Many people came to share in the special day including family (you can skip the following if you don't want to know everyone who was there but I want Sophia to know who came to celebrate her day)-Great Grandma, Nana, Pappy, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Kristen, Uncle Dan, Aunt Laura, Uncle Mark, Uncle David, Great Uncle John, Great Uncle Aunt Annalynn, Cousin Jenny, Great Aunt Rita, and Great Uncle Carlton. Friends of Mommy and Daddy- Amy Haffey, Jason Abernathy, Michelle and Ben Mannino, Caitlin Bell, Laura Englehart, and Joe Mallin. Finally some special people in our life- Kate Gillooly the Minister of Christian Formation at our church, and the Mawhorter family, Nana and Pappy's neighbors and a family that mom (Karen) babysat for for many year.

After taking a nap Sophia entertained her guests including her Pappy Clark.



Sophia received many wonderful gifts including a special book from her Uncle and Godfather David- And Tango makes Three and her very own rocking chair.



Sophia would only let mommy hold her for most of the time but she entertained everyone with her beautiful smile!


We had a wonderful day and we feel so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends who shared in our special day.

Sophia's Baptism

Sunday was a very special day for Sophia and her entire family. In addition to my first Mother's Day it was the day of Sophia's Baptism! Sophia was baptised at our church, St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Cleveland Hts.

Here is our little lady all dressed up for the big day.

The big moment, being baptised.



I have to take a moment to sing Sophia's praises. She was amazing on Sunday! Of course she is wonderful every day ;) but Sunday we were anticipating some fussiness. Who would have blamed her there were lots of new faces, she missed her 11 o'clock nap (since mom doesn't consider dozing in and out during church a nap), she was up in front of a huge crowd of people, had her picture taken a hundred times... well, she barely fussed at all! She was so calm and happy. While being baptised she just sucked on her pacifier and stared up at the minister. She went down for a nap at her Nana and Pappy's after church, got up and joined the party.... The only time she fussed was when mom tried to let others hold her. I think all the new people were just a little too overwhelming for her so she needed something familiar.

We love you sweet girl. You amaze us every day with all you are learning and doing. We hope and pray you always have faith in Jesus and know his abiding love for you.

More details from the big day to come!

Our exciting weekend

This past weekend was a really big one here. There were lots of firsts for Sophia. It all started on Saturday afternoon when Sophia met some very special people in her mommy's life.

Sophia's Great-Grandma came all the way from New Jersey to meet Sophia. Sophia is blessed to have two great-grandparents. Her mommy's Grandma and Grandpa-Nana's mom and dad. They are 89 and 90 respectively. Unfortunately, Great-Grandpa couldn't make the trip but hopefully we will see him sometime this summer!



Great-Grandma was so excited to meet Sophia that we couldn't get her to take her eyes off of her for a picture.

Saturday evening, Sophia met her Great-Aunt Annalynn and Cousin Jenny, Mommy's Aunt and Cousin. They rushed over as soon as they arrived in Cleveland. They were so excited to meet Sophia!





Cousins! Sorry have to brag a little... Isn't our cousin beautiful! Love her!

Sophia's Great-Uncle John was there too but he had to be the photographer since he got to meet Sophia in March.

Thank you for making the trip out from New Jersey to spend this special weekend with us! We love you!

spring time!

Spring is here, rain and all! I am so happy to see the flowers blooming! I am also excited because Spring has ushered in a whole new wardrobe for Sophia. I just love this little outfit.
I also love taking pictures at her Nana and Pappy's. We've been camping out there for the past few days while our kitchen is torn apart. Sawing and babies napping are not a good combination. Nana and Pappy have the perfect spot for pictures of my Sophia.

Can you see the rain in the background? We have been getting a lot of it lately. I thought it was April showers.... it's May now weather, time to get sunny so Sophia can go out in her little summer dresses.

testing out the vocal cords

Sophia has been entertaining her daddy and I with some very high pitched shrieking these days! and no I am not referring to crying. She is happy as can be just belting out shrieks. It is hysterical. The other day I was talking to her boyfriend's mom, Emily, and between Sophia's shrieking and Asher's yells I was pretty convinced they were having a conversation over us.

Don't worry, a video is on its way as soon as I can sneak up on my camera shy girl and catch her in the act. In the meantime, I will satisy your need for some Sophia with this adorable picture.

Now just imagine a high pitched shriek coming out of that sweet smiling mouth. :)

best friends

The other day I decided to pull out Sophie the Giraffe to see what Sophia thought of her. Well, I think this picture speaks for itself.

Sophia grabbed right on and gave Sophie a big hug. It could be because her mommy and daddy called her Sophie a lot before she was born or maybe its her friendly face and fun squeak, whatever it is Sophia loves her giraffe!