Mirror, Mirror on the Wall....

8 Month Appointment
Weight: 22.5 lbs.
Height: 30 inches long

Her 8th month appointment was last Friday. She is a healthy baby. She had 3 shots and once again handled it "like a pro". Sophia compared to other children, her age and older, is relatively long and large, but proportional. She is growing perfectly and beautifully.

Last night, the three of us enjoyed a wonderful movie at the Speakeasy Theater in Oakland. It is is a theater with couches. They serve pizza, nachos, wine and/or beer. On Monday nights, couples with infants under 1 yrs. of age are welcome. It is a wonderful idea, thank god for these places. Myron and I enjoyed a movie called, "Persepolis" (highly recommended). Sophia was surprisingly behaved.

This video was taken a couple of nights ago, we caught her looking at herself in a mirror.

Enjoy!

Flashback: After Birth

These videos speak for themselves...

The Curious One...

Sophia is such a inquisitive baby. When strangers approach her, she does not greet them with a smile, but she looks at them with such curiosity, it is as if she is looking right through them. Then after several moments of scrutinizing, she'll give in to a smirk, but if your lucky, a large, unforgettable smile soon follows.

When we are outside her eyes never stay in one place. She loves looking at everything from squirrels, trees, cars, kids playing. If she could, she would roll everywhere. She hasn't got the hang of crawling yet, she'll get their sooner or later.

Baby Loves Disco

After our swimming lesson, Myron and I drove to San Francisco to "Baby Loves Disco". I had initially heard about this through my mothers group and I was very curious. So I bought the tickets ($15 for every walking person) about a month ago as recommended. The Ruby Skye in SF is converted to a baby club, which is hilarious in itself. The place was decked out with strobe lights, a DJ (playing anything "baby" themed), bubbles, pillows, face painting and ALCOHOL. The idea is very creative, but I think it needed a bit more child themed ideas. I wanted Sophia to mingle with other babies, but the only ones mingling were the adults. I love mingling with other adults but not where I have to try to yell over the music. Myron and I settled with dancing with her in the dance floor which she enjoyed. I think too, she will enjoy it more when she is walking and dancing herself. We stayed for about an hour, she was really tired.

Until next time....or NOT....

My Little Pro...

This last Saturday was Sophia's second swim lesson, it was not as exciting for her as the first lesson (read further) but she still had her smiles.

While I was stepping into the pool with her, I slipped on the stairs and we both feel in. That was the first time Sophia has been completely underneath the water. Those seconds inside the water scared me to death, luckily the teacher was close by in the water and picked me up by the arm. I was completely disoriented, all I was thinking was getting her head up and out of the water as soon as possible. As soon as we emerged, I expected Sophia to start screaming, but she handled it like a pro. She had a startled look on her face, but did not cry or scream, although she was a little bit more cautious throughout the rest of her swimming.

Diaper Discovery

Lakeview Park

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood...

Today was so BEAUTIFUL, I almost forgot what those jacket free days were like. I LOVE IT!! I am so glad Sophia was with me to enjoy it. We walked to the park and around the Lakeshore area in Oakland. I can not wait till tomorrow to do it all over again! (The weather better be good)

Here is a video of Sophia in a swing at the park that she loves...

Busy Weekend!!

As you can see from the past 3 posts, we all had a busy weekend. On Saturday, we went to her 1st swimming lessons class. She had so much fun. From the moment she felt the water, she was kicking and moving her arms. I think if she could, she would swim away. We played games, and I think her favorite part was jumping from the side of the pool, into my arms. The lesson was 30 minutes, which initially I did not think was very long, but after 15 minutes of holding a 22 pound baby in the shallow section with your knees bent. Thirty minutes is too LONG!! (no not really, I can handle it) By the time we got out, I WAS SO TIRED!!

After her lessons, we spent the rest of the day hanging out at Tia Denise's house. We were both so tired, but we hung in there to spend time with Grandma Elaine who always brings lots of toys and books for Sophia.

On Sunday, we all got up early to file our taxes and while we were there, my parents met us. Sophia and my dad have a what you would call a "LOVE-HATE" relationship. She loves and adores my dad, but hates when he kisses her because of his mustache. I haven't captured it on video yet, but I am working on it. (The photo to the left is a photo of them together)

Since it was Tia Olinda's birthday, our next stop of course was to visit her. Sophia has so much fun. All her cousins keep her so occupied, I LOVE IT! Her grandpa Lalo was there too, which was really nice. Overall, we had a very nice and busy weekend. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIA OLINDA!!

Quick Review of Family Members
Tia Oli - Myrons sister
Tio Mario - Myrons brother in-law
Grandpa Lalo - Myrons father
Tia Denise - My sister
Grandma Elaine - My Mom
Grandpa Ruben - My Dad

Sophia's Visit to Tia Oli's

Play Time

Our Little Camaron

Alice the Fairy

This is one book Sophia really enjoys...as you will see...

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Alice speaks for herself, claiming she can fly (not too high but really fast), can change her dad into a horse (for a horsey ride), can make herself disappear (by flicking off the light switch with her wand), and can turn oatmeal into cake by pouring on fairy dust (sugar). There are elements of danger, such as broccoli poisoned by the wicked Duchess (Mom) and baths (fairies hate baths), as well as mischief ("…my mom made cookies for my dad. So I turned them into mine") and mishaps ("Once I accidentally turned my white dress into a red one").

There is one particular part Sophia loved hearing me read, it is when Alice tries making her dog float to the ceiling...

The Thumb

Since Sophia was about 1 month old she has discovered and enjoyed her thumb. It is her comforter, her companion and "just hers". Our attempts to dissuade her have all failed. Whenever she is tired, hungry or upset, her thumb is always her comforter. Here is a video of when she was about about 3 weeks old, at the time, she fell asleep on our our bed sucking her thumb and we decided to have a little fun....

ENJOY!!

Not feeling so well...

Before Sophia came along, I used to think that parents were ridiculous for not showing up to parties/gatherings if there baby had a cold or a cough. I used to think, that if they caught a cold, that it was no big deal, if anything it was building up there immune system. Now I know why parents are not so crazed about building up there immune system....especially when there infants....

Sophia has been sick twice. The first time was awful, the second time is not much better, in fact it has been worse.

She had a cold the first time, we were completely unprepared and out of town, for that matter. We had made a couple of trips to Walgreens for anything besides cough syrup that might relieve her symptoms, but there isn't much of anything besides Tylenol that you can give them. So we bought juice, bottled water, Baby Vix and some saline nose drops, all of which only subdued the symptoms briefly. That night she was sneezing, and so congested that she had to breath with her mouth open. Sophia was so frustrated, one of the things that comfort her, is her thumb, she could not suck her thumb or a bottle! The second night was better, since our second visit to Walgreens included a humidifier. For those days she was so tired and frustrated, and so were we.

Since Sophia has been sick this time and although we are more prepared, she has been coughing, sneezing, congested, and even more fatigue. The sight of any nose drops, tissue or Tylenol make her cry. Last night she was so frustrated she woke up every 30min to an hour, wanting to be comforted.

The helpless feeling you get is horrible, its those moments that you want to pull out your special powers and make things all better.

The one thing about Sophia, though, is if you smile at her amongst her fatigue and exhaustion, she returns the smile.

I know she'll be ok, but I still hate that she is sick...

Flashback: Swimming Without Water

0-7 Months

Too Fast...

A couple of nights ago, as I was lying in bed, all I could think about was how much Sophia has grown these past 8 months and how big and beautiful she is. I could hear her breathing in the speaker next to our bed. While thinking about her, I had the sudden urge to just hold her. So I quietly got out of bed and took her out of her crib and I just cradled her. Of course, Sophia is such a good sleeper, she did not wake up at all. A sudden flood of memories overwhelmed me, from the moment she was born, the first night with her at the hospital, her first fart, the grunting sounds she would make while sleeping, her eyes, her endless amounts smiles, her first teeth, her cheeks (yes, both sets), her curiosity with everything and everyone. She is almost 8 months now and so far she is a perfect baby. She loves singing, talking, and playing. For the past month she has been attempting to crawl, she loves when I read to her, and she loves eating.

There are 8 months that had alot of funny moments, so throughout the blog I am going to type "flashback" moments with past videos and/or photos as well as the new ones as she is grows.