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!

Yes Jesus Loves Me!

I am a HORRIBLE singer.  One day Michelle told me I was decent and I took that as amunition to fire of a song whenever I felt like it.  Some people think they sound good in their own head, not me, even in my own head I know I suck! Well we all sing to Sofia.  When she was in the womb, I would make up some silly song about how excited we were to meet her.  Michelle used to, and still does, sing along to her favorite Christian song.  Even Gloria, will sing to Sof in Spanish.  So... we all sing to her.  Well yesterday we downloaded the words to "Yes Jesus Loves Me," and last night I sang those words to our daughter.  Now I may have felt that Sofia looked at and recognized me before, and I know she does, but last night as I sang "Jesus Loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so," my daughter gazed at me with recognition and Love!  So this morning in my Saturday morning alone time with her, I sang her the same phrases and again she was glued to my every word! and I like to think it was not for my HORRIBLE singing but for the words in the Song... Yes Jesus loves me!

Our first date night

Well, it took us 7 weeks, but last Saturday, Justin and I had our first date night. Now that may sound like a long time but we have done plenty of things with other couples, just hadn't seemed to make time for the most important people! We have had plenty of meals out since Sofia was born and have been blessed with people bringing us food for the first few weeks, along with our very own gourmet chef (thanks to Glo) so a nice meal didn't seem necessary. We decided to go see a movie, something we both love to do and did ALOT during pregnancy. Sofia was left in great hands with my momma and plenty of milk, so I was a free woman for a few hours. We were deciding between a few movies (Man on a ledge which we heard was awesome from Justin's parents, Girl with a dragon tattoo which I have heard from many is a MUST see and from just as many it is too disturbing to watch, and  Haywire which we knew nothing about but thought looked good). We ruled out Girl with the dragon tattoo until it comes out on video so I can fast forward if need be and decided to go out on a limb and see Haywire. (Note to self: never see a movie again without hearing from multiple people first that it is worth it). It was AWFUL! Poor acting, horrible background music, bad plot, a just plain bad movie. Movies are entirely too expensive now a days to take a chance on seeing a bad one.  The movie was a matinee and we were out by 8:00 and easily could have sat down to dinner, yet we ended up picking up Chick-fil-A drive though and heading home.
When I think back on our date night, it sounds like it deserves a D/C- at best. However, I would definitely give it an A. While the movie was terrible and the food was fast, I absolutely loved cuddling up with my hubby in the dark theater. There is something about holding hands, sneaking kisses and snuggling for 2+ hours that makes me feel like a teenager. Afterwards, we strolled around just talking and holding hands, followed by Justin asking me to dance in the middle of the mall. It was so sweet, I just love that he doesn't get embarrassed EVER. Taking dinner home was the perfect ending to our night as we were both eager to get home to love on Sofia and snuggle up on the couch with our family of three.

Thankful Thursdays

Not sure if Justin and I do a very good job of letting you guys know who is posting, but I figure our writing style is so different (with mine mostly being rambling thoughts) that you guys can figure it out, even when we post on the same day!

Everyday, multiple times a day, I thank God for the many blessings he has given me. Today, I am especially thankful for Thursdays. Our church, Watermark, offers a ministry called Square One. It is for new moms with infants. It lasts 8 weeks and provides support and biblical encouragement to women as they begin their journey of motherhood. This session has the most women to date, 44! Thats right 44 women all with our babies UNDER 12 weeks. Its amazing. Babies are crying, sleeping, nursing, being changed, etc without anyone batting an eye. Its actually 2 hours of being out of the house where you feel safe to be out without a worry. The youngest baby on our first session last week was 6 days old. Kuddos to that momma!! Today we broke off into small groups according to if we plan to stay at home, work part time, or work full time. The majority of mom's plan to stay home so there were 2 groups for that. In our small group we went around and each gave a praise for something good that happened this week and asked for prayer requests for this week. We then proceeded to pray for one another. It was such a sweet, vulnerable time for everyone. I am already counting down until next week! After a few of us went to lunch at Corner Bakery. It was too much. 6 of us walking in all with babies in tow. Luckily, they are all young enough that they are sleeping a lot and not one fussed! I am excited to get to know these women and so grateful that Watermark has provided us with this opportunity.

Reliving the Experience

I am sitting in a hospital room, in Chattanooga, TN, awaiting the arrival of Sofia's Cousin, my Nephew, Talen Gregory Tibbs.  So, most of you know that I am a twin and she is about to have her first, a little boy! Our God is so amazing! For as long as I can remember Jackie and I always said it would be incredible to have our kids be the same age.  Well our little Sofia is 7 weeks old tomorrow and little Talen will join us today (Jaunary 26, 2012), making them Twins (Once removed)!  Although I am miles away from Michelle and Sofia, my mind is with them because being here, I keep reliving our birth, only a short time ago.  I, maybe prematurely, play off my experience of being a father, trying to give them advice on what to expect.  Do this, don't do that... I wish I would have's or wouldn't have's... all I feel are applicable to their scenario but really just replaying mine.  That experience is still alive and fresh in my memory but even more fresh is the sights, sounds and smells of our little girl.  As they wheel my sister back to the OR, I am overwhelmed with joy because now she will know these feelings.  The next time I see my Twin, she will be a mother!!! Our God is great!

Out and About with Sofia

Recently we have had some gorgeous days here in Dallas which has motivated me to get out with Sofia. Yesterday it was 70 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.  My mom, me and Sof went to an outdoor shopping area with great botiques, restaurants, and my favorite baby store, Baby Bliss. I wrapped Sofia up in a cute kelly green Moby wrap and she was as happy as could be. Sleeping the majority of the time we were out,  and waking up just to nurse. Wraps are the greatest thing ever. Not having to lug around the carseat or a stroller and being hands free, yet having Sofia so close is a win for all!

We met some great ladies at the baby shop and I even found a potential baby sitter for when mom leaves. I am still struggling with the idea of going back to work. At first I thought for sure at 12 weeks I would be ready to work 2 days a week, but I absolutely can not fathom leaving Sof with a stranger in 2 months. Justin and I have some serious discussion to do.

On a completely different note, one of our favorite times with Sofia is her every other night bath. We have a pretty good system going, and bath her quickly, but we have found that she LOVES the bath so much that the other night we just let her sit in her little tub on the bathroom counter and watched her stare at herself in the mirror and make the cutest faces.

1 Month Memory

Sofia's 1 month was yesterday and every new moment I have had with her has been my favorite.  Given yesterday is a milestone I would like to share the one that stands out above any else.  Sofia has a problem of getting up at 4:30 - 5am to feed and not wanting to settle back down.  This is great for daddy because I can start my day with having my daughter, alone, for the waking hours of the day. Saturday morning, same thing, after a feeding Daddy's turn.  Our typical routine is to go into the nursery and sway, bounce, and sing to her all while patting her back.  This will go on for a good hour.  The key here is trying to get her to have some movement in her belly and to avoid the hiccups.  If she gets really fussy we will pace the hallway until she can get comfortable on my chest.  Saturday, nothing was working.  After about an hour she was still squirming so we did some Tummy Time in our spare bedroom.  Since it was Saturday I had all morning, which was great, but I unfortunately was very tired.  At about 2 hours awake, Sofia was fading so I laid on the couch, put on some Christian music, and slowly drifted to sleep.  This was kind of frightening because I wanted to be sure to position myself as to not harm her.  What resulted was what was basically a hug that I will remember for ever.  Thanks Sofia for one month. Thank you Michelle for being an amazing mother to her and for God for making it all possible.

Happy 1 month Sofia!

Well, we have made it through 4 weeks and they have been surprisingly better/easier than I expected them to be. This could be due to a variety of reasons...1.) I have been blessed with so much help between my hubby, mom, dad and sister. 2.) Sofia is one of the least fussy babies I have ever heard of. She gets a little wild for about an hour or 2 a day and that is it.  3.) Over the course of my pregnancy I heard so many horror stories that I just assumed Sofia would fit into all of them! Whatever the reason, with the exception of the lack of sleep that is expected, it truly has been blissful. She sleeps well, nurses well and is so happy when she is awake. The main thing this momma needs to conquer is getting Sofia to nap in her crib. She is currently sleeping in a pack n play bassinet in our room at night and that is heavenly. I don't even have to get out of bed to change her or nurse her. This was recommended by so many people and I am so glad I listened. As far as sleeping in her crib goes, I am definitely not ready to have her in her big room all by herself at night,  but am ready for her to take naps in her crib. What typically happens is this...she begins to doze off and we put her down in her crib, swaddled and with the sleep sheep on and making the sweetest noises.  I walk out, turn on the video monitor (thank you IPT girls!) and within 10 minutes she is having a party. Her arms and legs are moving all around and I enjoy the show, until the crying starts (if you can call it that). She makes these pitiful little noises that to me sound like "mommy, you are being mean, why are you leaving me in this jail cell, all I see are bars in front of me, come get me and play with me, your chest is so much warmer than this big scary crib"...and then I cave. I justify this by saying, "she is only _ days old, she just isn't ready".  We have had a few successful times leaving her in her crib when she is out cold, but these are few and far between.  She does however, love to sleep in her rock n play sleeper (thank you Sarah B!!). This hangs out in the living room with us where she takes most of her naps. I am hoping that she will naturally transition to her crib without us having to make her cry it out. I always considered myself the logical  type and as a pediatric OT I have given countless mom's advice on sleep habits, among many other things, but when its your own child, all the logic flies out the window! This little bitty thing has me wrapped around her finger already.

Today, in honor of Sofia turning 1 month old, she is going on her first outing (outside of the doctor). It is a beautiful day in Dallas, 71 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.  We are going to drop abuela yoyi off to get her hair done and enjoy the fresh air and some shopping/lunch at Snyder plaza.

Newborn photo shoot

Through the poop and pee we managed to get some great pictures!