I just wanted to share some special moments with my sweet Sofia.  I could write about every second with her because I cherish them all, but for whatever reason Tuesday, 7/24/12 was differently special. I usually get home from work with enough time to play for a minute, share in bath time and then put Sofia to bed.  Last night was the exception as I got home before 5.

            When I got home, I ran into Sofia's playroom, and immediately locked eyes with her.  When she recognized me she did her breaststroke kick, big, only gummed, smile and began to crawl to Daddy.  I always say, "I can't wait until she runs to daddy" well I can't imagine anything sweeter than her crawling to me like last night. 

Shortly following, me, Mommy and Sof, laid on the couch, no TV, no phones just the 3 of us, letting her play between mom and dad.  She would crawl on mom then change course and crawl to dad. Face-to-face, my daughter, with her angelic features, bites on my nose! I guess she is teething, but no matter what she did I was so tickled that I laughed uncontrollably as she used my nose as a nipple.  Another simple but oh so special moment of last night was our time on the swing.  We have a rope swing in our front yard and since Sofia was about 2 months old we would swing together in the evenings.  I don't know why but when we sit on the swing she immediately, almost instinctively reach for the rope.  She looks, recognizes and hold on tight without direction or instruction... Oh so sweet.

                             

            The last, but maybe the best, part of last night was after bath time (which is always my job), Sofia learned to kiss, or respond to one of ours.  I dance for her which forces an arm flailing reaction from Sof (I guess you would say her dancing).  What was different about tonight was that I would stop suddenly, say "Kisses" and then pop kiss Sofia on her mouth.  Her reaction to this was a calm pucker followed by a oh so subtle... kiss to her father.  I love every moment with her, and they are all similarly special.  I struggle with wanting to write, picture or video every second.  These particular events need no record because they will be in my memory forever! Thanks Sofia!
Dad

So many firsts....

This month Sofia has had a lot of Firsts..

She took her first of many flights to come on May 7th. We flew from Dallas to Louisville and were so fortunate to have the whole row to our self. It was the perfect way to dive into flying. A quick, easy flight and we were able to play the entire time!

That afternoon, Sofia and I got to meet her best friend and cousin Talen. It was the sweetest moment and we were able to have Justin on facetime to watch the whole thing since he was still in Texas. Sofia took to Talen right away, constantly touching his face and pulling on his arms and legs. Talen on the other hand was a typical guy, just not that interested.

Sofia then had her first swim lesson. We started swimming with 5 of our sweet baby friends from square one and it was incredible to see 5 and 6 months old being submersed under water, floating on their backs and kicking. We were supposed to do 10 lessons, but after 2 we all decided to call it a day and instead just meet once a week to swim and play.

        

Needless to say Sofia's first swim lesson she just wasn't having it. It happened to fall right during her favorite nap time and she choose to suck her thumb and fall asleep :)




 Our final first for the month of May was having our first non friend/family member babysitter. This was a big step for momma but a cake walk for Sofia. I am looking forward to so many firsts in June...
Daddy's first father's day, Sofia's first trip to the beach, the first time she has food and who knows what else is in store.

Love hurts!

It is amazing how much room your heart has to love.  Over the past few months I have felt like the Grinch,  not for anything negative but because my heart has grown 3 sizes.  The best part about it is that while you feel like you can't possibly love something this much, what you find is that you start to love everything increasingly more!  The love between you and your wife grows.  Your love and appreciation for your family grows and most important the love for God and his Grace grows.  All of these are good things but occasionally, when you think about how deep your love for these things are... it HURTS!  Leaving Sofia every morning hurts! Thinking about her growing up... hurts! Thinking about disciplining her... hurts!  Thinking about your family and seperation, hurts.  Thinking about Jesus and what seperation from everything good, his Father, truly meant... HURTS! The major take away for me in the past 4+ months is, when God says to "Multiply" he said it so that we experience even more of his Glory by growing in Love! A Love that, even though it may hurt sometimes, grows!

- Justin

The Joy of Grandparents

So, after many lectures from my husband about my need to blog and me coming up with a million plus excuses, I am going to attempt to get back in the swing of things. It is just amazing how fast and busy each and every day is and sitting down for any decent amount of time to blog just hasn't been on my radar. So here is catch up of our past month....
We had not one but both grandparents visit! Justin's parents came the first weekend of March.

They had not seen Sofia (except on Skype of course) since she was 3 days old! At 3 months, she was quite different and they absolutely loved every second of playing, holding, changing, bathing, rocking, etc. her.

We had an eventful yet relaxing weekend with adventures to Fort Worth, grandpa Jack helping with tons of yardwork, UK basketball and hanging at White Rock Lake. We loved every second of watching them love on Sofia, we are counting down until May when we head to Kentucky for the first time to meet all the Smith family (especially Sofia's bff Talen!)

Not a week later my parents were back! My mom has a very hard time staying away and has been trying to convice my daddy to get an apt here (with very little success). Mom and I have been plotting to get the little one here when she returns from Spain. Angie claims she is applying to schools in Dallas but between jetting off to Paris, Dublin, Milan, Athens, and Santorini, I have a feeling the real world of work is falling low on her to-do lists. Hopefully she will come to her senses soon and realize Dallas is her next stop :)

My rents were here for a full week yet it still didn't feel like enough time to me (although Justin may have been singing a different toon, he is all too patient and generous to allow the in-laws so much time with us.) We did lots of the same, eating delicious brunches out, watching more Kentucky basketball, white rock lake and enjoying my momma's delicious cooking!

A Quick Note to Sofia

I want to apologize to everyone for being awfully, inconsistent with blogging.  I want to most of all apologize to Sofia.  Most of the time when I write, I envision writing to her, and her reading this years down the road.  Well, if that is true, Baby Girl I am very sorry. You have been the second best thing to ever happen to your mother and I.  No matter how bad my day is, you are a reason to smile.  The joy you have brought to our lives is indescribable and if I ever don't show you that (like with not blogging) I am sorry.  Truthfully I could blog about every second with you because to me it is all fun, new and exciting.  Each day you seem to grow both in size and in character and I can already say that Daddy is very proud of you.  I can picture scenes from movies where the parents are watching the child sleep and tell you that I could spend a lifetime doing just that.  Let's talk about filming you for a second.  This task is impossible because we could keep a camera on you 24 hours a day and ever frame would be a treasure.  With the newness of each moment you bring joy to your mother and I's life and I thank you.  Sofia, Daddy loves you with all his heart!

Daddy Daycare

I have been alone with Sofia many mornings and when Michelle is on a jog or at the grocery, but I have yet to baby sit for a long period of time.  Not that I was nervous to do so, but the need has yet to arise.  Saturday, Michelle had a baby shower, so Daddy was on duty.  When I envision babysitting, I picture Disney movies (partly because I love them) sweets and basically causing havoc throughout the house.  With it being your own and with Sofia not really doing a lot yet, none of the "Daddy Daycare" moments transpired.  What did happen though was hours of quality time with my daughter.  We did "tummy time" until her frustration rose to crying.  I filmed her dancing to "Shake your booty" a daddy song which is completely innocent and has only one refrain "Shake your Booty." Then we cuddled on the couch until she fell asleep.  Sounds like a lot of fun and a long process but all this fun took about 15 minutes.  So with mommy not coming back for another 2:45 minutes (she was due back after 3 hours), what were we to do?  I'll tell you what we did... nothing! You know you truly love someone when you can sit in complete silence and be happy.  Well although or relationship is a little one sided right now, every minute that passed by was amazing, to have my daughter be... with her Daddy!  - Justin

magic number 5

Thinking back over my exercise routine while pregnant and now post pregnancy, the number 5 keeps coming up. I typically ran 5 miles throughout the pregnancy, until the last few weeks where I was only able to do 3-4 miles. I had my first run post Sofia at the 5 week mark. (I was shocked that my doctor released me to exercise at my 4 week check up following a C-section, but was delighted none the less.) And now Sofia is almost 10 weeks and since my first run 5 weeks ago, I am back up to 5 miles! Its amazing how quickly your body remembers and bounces back. Those first 2 weeks were very slow and I felt so out of shape, but as the weight continues to fall off, and my pace and mileage increase, it just feels right.

Justin and I have decided to run a mini marathon on April 15th, so we have just started training for that. Splurging on the BOB stroller was the best thing we could have done. It has easily logged 50 miles already. There are very few days during the week where Justin and I are able to run together, but when we get the chance we always take it! Last night was our first run as a family of 3. I loved every second of it, no Ipods, a happy/sleeping baby and great conversation as we ran in 60 degree weather in February! I am looking forward to many more of these moments.

On a completely different note, Sofia turned 2 months last week! She is changing so much everyday. It feels like everytime I blink, she is doing something new or making some sort of new sound. Justin and I can't get enough of her noises and at least once a day I record her sounds and send them to Justin. That proud daddy then proceeds to share them with all of the women in his office. One of his employees told me that he will go up to her when she seems upset/frustrated and will say, "your in a bad mood, hold on I have something for you", and proceed to play Sofia's sounds for her! Too much. Yesterday for Valentines Day, Sofia and I surprised daddy at work. It was the first time I have taken her up there and he was so excited to show her off. We had the best time and have decided to make this a weekly thing!