HA!!

I know, I know...I'm so behind.  Blogs to come include both of Sophia's birthday parties and the first day of school...plus now we are in Orlando so there will be a bunch of Disney related posts.  I'll get there, trust me!! 

But for now.....tonight after visiting the Animal Kingdom all day long (from open to close, yeah, we are hardcore, hahaha) Sophia needed a bath...obviously.  We put her in the giant tub in our room with lots of bubbles....and this is the hilarious picture I got.  Makes me laugh every time I look at it.  I sure love this girl! :-)

Sophia's 2 Year Stats

On the 10th of Sept (three days after her 2nd birthday), Sophia had her two year check-up. 
I will say right now that I am SO thankful that she likes the show Doc McStuffins on Disney Jr because I think she actually likes the doctor now.  She did fine at her 18 month check-up, but she really didn't like the doctor doing too many things to her at all (you know, like listen to her heart beat, check in her ears and mouth....definitely not the mouth.  Girl knows how to clamp her teeth shut).  This check-up was a totally new thing.  The doctor asked her what her name was (she told her Sophia) and how old she was (she said two) and then before the doc could say anything else, Sophia became really excited and animated and said "Go to Disney World!" She was basically sharing with the doctor our plans for the month that we have been talking about non-stop for the past few months.  When it came time for the doctor to do her thing, Sophia sat on my lap as still as a statue.  She did point to the doctor's stethoscope (she has a little play one that we got her for her birthday....just like Stuffins) but didn't try to grab it or anything when the doctor listened to her heartbeat.  She didn't make a peep the whole time the doctor was checking her out.  A nice change from having to lay her down and hold her arms when she was younger and hated the whole thing. 
Her stats are as follows....weight, 28.6 pounds...height, 33 and 3/4 inches.  Which amounts to 75th percentile in weight and 50th percentile in height (I mean, we know she won't be too tall, haha).  The doctor did tell us that she has a good BMI....I guess because her percentiles don't match up?  Basically she seemed to be telling us that she isn't overweight or anything just because her weight is above average.  I think she gained about 4 pounds or so and maybe 3 inches since her 18 month appt.  I'd have to check the stats from that appointment (I know all that information is in one of the boxes around this house) to be sure, but I think my guess is pretty close.  Anyway, the doctor said she is perfect (I bet she says that to all the parents)!  And we totally believe her.  ;-)  We chatted about the goings on of Sophia's neuro visits and that information....but the doctor said that she seems to be right on track, even a little ahead, with her development, so we shouldn't worry too much about that and just continue on the path that the neurologist is setting for now.  And to just let her know if there are any changes. 
And while we didn't have any vaccinations this time around, Sophia did have to get a finger prick blood test and a flu shot.  She didn't cry at first when the nurse pricked her finger....but she was pretty ticked off when the nurse started to squeeze the poor little finger and she screamed and tried to pull her hand away.  Set things up real nice for the flu shot.  I'm not totally sure she really even knew the nurse gave her the shot in her leg, she was so mad and crying from the blood test.  Either way, it was loud and after it was all done, she had to give a little dramatic crying....for effect of course.  She was still boo-hooing as we were leaving...but made sure I knew that she remembered they have stickers at the doctor's office, and she wanted one.
Since her check-up, all of Sophia's dolls and stuffed animals and Michael and I have to get our flu shots every day (not to mention our heart listened to, our ears checked, and we even have to "follow her light") with her play doctor stuff.  Yay.  But, on the bright side, maybe she'll be a doctor one day?!

Sophia's Neuro Results

You may or may not remember (it was quite a while ago) that we had to take Sophia to the pediatric neurologist due to a strange leg stiffening behavior that we noticed was getting a bit worse.  And on August 1, we had to have an 8 hour long EEG done on her....it was a super long day. 
Well, it was even longer waiting on the results.  When the appointment concluded, they told me that it could be as long as 14 business days before the results were read and interpreted.  I am not a super patient person when it comes on waiting to find out any type of results...but I did understand that to watch 8 hours of video and compare it with 8 hours of brain waves would take some time.  Plus we were getting ready to be super busy with family coming into town, moving my brother and moving ourselves.  I figured the time would fly by. 
It sure did.  Before I knew it, it had been three whole weeks since the study had taken place.  On the one hand, I figured that if something was wrong, they would probably call me immediately.  But I decided that I would call the office just to see what the status was (and possibly remind them we were anxiously awaiting results).  The lady I spoke with said that the report was in, but it just had to be interpreted.  She said that I should expect a call by the end of the week.  And that was it.  So I waited. 
When the week passed and I still hadn't heard anything, I somewhat started to get annoyed.  But, in the back of my mind, I was thinking surely they would contact me first thing if there was something to worry about.  I placed another call to the office, left a message, and waited again. 
By the end of that day, the same woman from the office that I previously spoke with called me back.  I will point out that Michael was out of town this week in San Diego for a work trip....he had been gone exactly one day out of a four day trip.  The woman told me that I needed to come in, that the doctor wanted to explain the results in person.  Um, what???  Last week, she didn't say anything about me having to come in to hear the results.  I was totally thinking the worst.  I let her know that originally they had scheduled a follow up appointment for us that was to happen the following week...but she said that I needed to come in in the next few days and made the appointment for the first time that the doctor was available.  As soon as I hung up with her, I called Michael.  He wasn't going to be back in town yet to go with me.  And he was sort of thinking the same thing, that it probably wasn't just nothing if they needed to tell us in person.  Thankfully, my Mom offered to come with me. 
At the appointment, the waiting room was packed.  We were totally on time, but had to wait quite a while before we were called back.  Sophia wanted to stay in the waiting area and play with the toys there, haha.  Finally, we were able to see the doctor. 
She immediately said that there was NO sign of seizures happening with Sophia.  Huge exhale on my part.  I think that was probably the worst case scenario.  However, the doctor that interpreted the results felt that the movements she was making was in line with a neurological disorder called dystonic posture.  It is a movement disorder.  I linked the basic description of the disorder...too much googling can really be scary (and the doctor said DO NOT go crazy looking it up....she must know my husband and me, haha).  The doctors felt that starting with a seizure medication at a low dose could hopefully help control the disorder....it doesn't seem to be something that is curable, more like maintained.  She did say that they do not want Soph to continually be on medication, so hopefully it will help to lessen the symptoms while she is taking it.  I feel somewhat nervous about seizure medications, as I was taking one for prevention of migraines and it did NOT work and had some side effects.  I totally googled the medicine that Soph has been prescribed (Trileptal) and its side effects.  (Side note...if you or anyone you know takes it, please let me know if there are any strange effects from it....)  The schedule we are on with the medicine gradually increases it until we are at full dosage after four weeks.  We just started the third week....I can't totally tell if it is helping...maybe because we aren't at full dosage yet.  Some days I think it might be...and then other times it doesn't appear to be doing much.  We have to go back to the neuro in early October to discuss how things are going.
I completely feel like the news wasn't nothing, but it wasn't the worst case it could be.  While I wish it really was just nothing, I am very thankful that it is not something worse, like seizures or any nerve issues.  I am appreciative to the pediatrician for not dismissing my concern and referring me on to the neurologist. 
I think everything will end up being ok with my girl.  I do NOT want her to be on a different medication for the rest of her life...but I am willing to give this one a shot to see if it helps with her condition.  I definitely like this neurologist a lot better than others I have seen (ahem) and feel like if I have an issue or concern I will be taken seriously and we will be able to work together to find different solutions to help my child.  For now, we are just taking things one day at a time.  Please keep my sweet Soph in your thoughts! :-)

The BIG Move!

Yes, we have been in our new house for a month and 6 days now.  And yes, I am just getting around to posting about the move.  Ah, well.  Better late than never I suppose. 
The entire week before we moved, we were super busy.  We had out of town relatives in town so we were spending a lot of time with them.  Michael and I were using up every spare second to pack our whole condo into boxes.  And then, the day before our move, we moved my brother, Dillon, to college.  Michael stayed behind so he could pick up the moving truck and fill it with the things we had in our storage unit.  I was thinking I would be back in time to take care of the last minute details at the condo....but it was pretty much midnight before we got back from the college move.  I ended up staying at my parents' house and getting up reaaalllly early on the morning of Saturday, Aug 11.  At that point, I was throwing things into boxes and trying to get them as labeled as possible so on the other end things wouldn't be so hectic.  At least I tried.  Best laid plans, right?
I was SO thankful for all of our friends and family members that helped us out with this move.  Turns out, even though we were only living in a small condo, we have a ton of stuff.  And some of the furniture pieces that my Mom said we could use were VERY heavy.  Glad our moving crew didn't hurt themselves! 
We were supposed to have the moving truck returned by 4pm....but it was probably a little bit after that.  As far as we know, we weren't charged extra for it.  And once everything was out of the truck and into the house....well, then came the task of dividing up the boxes to the rooms they belonged in (even though I labeled them with the rooms they needed to go in, it ended up easier on the moving crew to use our dining room and formal living room as the box dumping ground, haha).  And getting Sophia's room as close to ready as it could be.  I didn't want a lot of boxes or a bed that wasn't put together or a lot of chaos in her room so that hopefully her transition into the new house would be a bit more smooth.  She loves her pink room, so she was happy to finally be in it.  Although the first few days she did keep saying she wanted to 'go home'.  Even now, she will say things like 'is this our new house?' and 'can we go to our new house?' 
A new change for us in this new house....STAIRS!!  And lots of them.  We have two separate stairways up to the second floor, plus a set of stairs that lead into the basement.  When you go from hardly ever having to climb stairs (none in our bottom floor condo) to constantly going up and down and up and down....well, your legs sure get a workout!!  I was so sore the first few days....climbing the stairs and moving heavy boxes all around....definitely just as good as hitting the gym. 
Another change....all the light that comes into the house.  This is definitely a positive thing....our condo was quite dark, even with the blinds open and all the lights on.  The only slightly negative thing is when it is soooo early in the morning and the sun is streaming in right in your face.  So we immediately hung the blinds in Sophia's room and ours.  And up to this point, we haven't gotten many more hung up.  It'll happen. 
Something that we have finally seemed to get a handle on....spiders and mosquitoes seems to enjoy taking up residence in our new home.  Not just one here and there.  The first couple of weeks, I was killing several spiders each day and Soph and I were getting bit up by the mosquitoes.  I really hate bugs.  And if they are fast moving, I feel like they are going to attack me or something when I try to go after them to kill them.  I know, I am much bigger and they are probably more afraid of me than I am of them or something like that.  But they are just so gross!!  Anyway, Michael bought some heavy duty bug spray and sprayed the entire house and all around it outside.  We might still find one here and there now...but it's not a full time job to exterminate the pests in the home anymore. 
I am really really enjoying the house.  I love having a garage to park in, a big playroom for Sophia, a big kitchen and living area to host parties in (post to come...we had a little party for Sophia's birthday here).  I love that we are in a neighborhood...we have started to meet the neighbors and so far everyone is super nice.  As soon as the weather cools down, there is going to be a cul-de-sac cookout....it will be a great way to meet some more of our neighbors and hopefully make some friends! 
We aren't quite totally unpacked.  As soon as I ended up with the teaching job, I have found that a lot of my extra time has gone into planning for that, as opposed to constantly working on the house.  But every room is functional and we are getting there, slowly but surely. 
I hope to have some pictures to share soon....but obviously things have been pretty hectic around here...they'll come, don't worry! 
I feel like I am really loving this house....it is our family home.  And I hope that we will be here for many, many years to come!! :-)

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sophia Rose!

I know I haven't been keeping up with the blog that great lately but I couldn't let today go by without posting about a big milestone in the life of my sweet girl....today she turns 2!!

Sweet Sophia Rose,
Wow.  I cannot believe you are two years old today.  If I thought that the first year of your life went by fast, the second year flew by.  I am not sure if it is because of how much you have changed in this last year or if I just want to keep you my tiny little baby forever...but here we are and you are all of the sudden my big girl.  And you will tell me that, too, just in case I forget! 
Everything about you makes me smile.  Even when you are misbehaving, it is sometimes funny to me to see how worked up you can get.  You are just too cute for your own good.  But you are such a sweet girl.  You give the best hugs and I love love love when you wrap your arms around my neck and squeeze so tight.  You give hugs pretty freely and follow them up with some pretty sweet kisses too.  If someone tells you that they love you, you say it right back.  And lately you have been saying that you love me without any prompting...and that is my favorite thing.  Every night you have to say "goodnight, sleep tight, see you in the morning light" and then "I love you" and "goodnight" before Mommy can close the door.  I love our nighttime routine. 
My goodness, do you talk a lot.  You don't just say a few words and sentences, you talk non-stop all day long.  You ask questions about so many things, and you definitely let me know your opinions on pretty much everything.  You constantly need to know what I am doing, what I'm eating, who I'm talking to.  And you want me to tell you the name of every person we come into contact with ("who's that, Mommy?" quite loudly)...even if I don't have a clue who it is.  More than one stranger I have come into contact with has commented on how vocal and articulate you are.  Which goes to show that you really aren't a very shy girl at all and will be your sweet, friendly self to pretty much anyone.  Sometimes you pretend that you are shy though...and Mommy doesn't mind 'cause you hold on to me extra tight at those times.  :-) 
You are adjusting so well to our new house.  You love to talk about your pink room and your playroom....and when we leave you always ask if we'll go back to the new house.  You can recognize the front of the neighborhood when we pull in already and love to point out the pool every time we pass it.  You also can recognize when we are driving to Grammy and Grampy's house....at first you knew as soon as we got into the neighborhood....now you know farther down the road before we even get to the neighborhood.  Looks like you will get Mommy's good sense of direction! ;-)
You love to read and play with your kitchen in your playroom.  And your new thing is baby dolls....you really love to be a little mommy and you take very good care of your babies (most of the time!).  You like to have a book read to you over and over....to the point that you have probably 4 or 5 of them memorized and will "read" along with Mommy.  And you are really getting good at your colors and shapes and can recognize quite a few letters....you love to be such a little smarty pants.  My favorite trick is when you spell your name....you've been doing it for about 6 months or so and everyone is usually very impressed when you do it....and I think you know it.  :-)  You are such a little sponge with learning...I am glad that we are putting you in pre-school, as you are very ready to go (even if Mommy and Daddy aren't quite ready yet!).  You seem to be able to memorize and recite back songs and nursery rhymes that you hear after only hearing them a few times....the most recent example is Baa, Baa Blacksheep.  You found it on Daddy's phone on YouTube and watched it several times...and then you sang the entire thing to Mommy!  And I know that wasn't something I taught you, you picked it up all on your own.  If you aren't talking, then you are singing.  You have started making up your own songs (for example, singing "Mommy" to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle) and you just love to be silly.  You know many kids' songs and nursery rhymes...but you've also started to love some songs that you hear on the radio too...like Call Me Maybe and any Justin Beiber (um, are you turning 2 or 13?!) and some One Direction and Pitbull and Flo Rida (ok, clearly these ones are Mommy's influence...but I just want you to be well rounded!!).  You have to have the radio on in the car and will yell at us if we don't turn it right on.  And you'll also tell us to change the song if it is not something you want to hear.  You might be a little bit bossy (haha).  With everything that you have learned in this last year, I can't wait to see what you will learn in the coming year. 
I love that you still will cuddle with us.  I love that your hair has gotten soooo long and curly...I just love those little curly-cues so much.  I love everything about you.  We definitely will have our frustrating moments, but I honestly love and am thankful for every single second that you have been in my life.  I know that your Daddy feels the same way.  We were infinitely blessed when you came into our lives, precious Sophia, and are so happy to be your parents. 
I don't know if you will remember this second birthday of yours....but what you should always remember is that Mommy and Daddy will love you forever and ever and ever. 
Happy 2nd birthday, my sweet girl!
Love, Mommy

Too Busy To Blog

So I had all good intentions to post three or four blogs this week...a follow up about Sophia's neuro visit, several about our move and the new house, one about the fact that my baby is turning two this week, and maybe another post about my new teaching job....but that particular topic is exactly what is keeping me from being able to blog about any of those things. 
It has been the craziest, busiest, most exhausting week ever! 
I can't believe my sweet girl will be two in just a couple of days.  Amongst all the planning and stuff that I am doing for my new class of two year olds, I am trying to plan a fun birthday day and party for my baby girl.  The party is set for this weekend so I have to get all organized for it...not to mention something has to be done with all the still full boxes that 'decorate' each room of our house.  I literally need a dozen more hours in each day to get things done.  And that would not be counting time for sleep.  Guess I will worry about catching up on that......at some point. 
So, since I have already spent too much time away from all of my pressing responsibilities, I will have to cut this short.  But I did want to let all (three) of my followers that I will be back soon to update you on the many many things that need to be updated (as I am sure you are all just on the very edge of your seat). 
Just know that I will be waaaayyy behind and who knows when I will be caught up again!  :-) 

Well THAT Was Unexpected!

Today has felt like a looong day. We had a follow-up appointment at Sophia's neurologist this morning and had to get up and leave the house super early this morning (I will do a separate post about this as there is a good bit to report on this topic).
Sophia and I had already planned a play date with my friend Jennifer and her niece Alexa and the doctors appointment was unexpectedly added to the day...so our play date got pushed back a bit. I was keeping in touch by text with Jennifer about when the appointment was ending, when I was heading back towards our house, etc. After a few texts (and between various calls to check on Soph) Jennifer actually gave me a call.
She asked if I would be interested in co-teaching a 2 year class with her at church!! The perk would be that Soph and Alexa (both of whom do not make the September 1st cutoff to be in an actual class of 2 year olds...they JUST miss it...poor Soph misses by only a week) could be in the class! Um, and the perk of getting paid...that too, haha.
Now, I can name half a dozen reasons why this is the most perfect job setup I can think of. First of all, we've been really looking into getting Sophia some type of schooling...she's so ready. But we've run into some issues...if it isn't the cost (depending on the school, it can be quite pricey, even for just a few days a week), it's the fact that her birthday falls after Sept 1. Not to mention the fact that most registrations for pre-schools start very early in the year...and I missed it by a lot! I had no idea when Soph was 16 months where/if we'd want her to start school...I didn't know we'd be moving then either so if I had registered her somewhere, that would all have had to change anyway.
Next, with the move (and still owning our previous home) and all we've been spending lately associated with it, I've been considering different part time job opportunities. This is tricky because I stay home with Sophia...can't just shut the playroom door and hope she fends ok on her own!! So I'd need to make sure Michael could be home from work in time for any evening gigs I might find...and it would be so hard for me to adjust to being away from my family! This way, I'm still taking care of Soph (she'll be in my class!) and can spend evenings and weekends with her and Michael doing family things. Instead of just switching off her care each day. Perfect! And I'm still adding some income to the family pot!
And finally, if you don't know my sister or read her blog (The Watkins Wire...you can find it on the 'blogs I follow' list...check it out, it's really good!), she is actually a pre-school teacher at a church. She teaches a 4 year old class where my nephew Cooper goes to pre-school...and really enjoys it. I've always wished to myself that I could find a great job opportunity like that, but never have been able to. And not having a school aged child (until now!) didn't prompt me to look too hard. But she has found the perfect set up by being near her son and still working at a rewarding job teaching kids. Now I am so excited to be doing the same thing!
Our little class has it's first day on Tuesday, September 11....not too far away!!! It's three days a week (Tues, Wed, and Thurs) and we will have about ten kids. Lots and lots of details to take care of before that day rolls around. I am just very excited and looking forward to being able to still be with my daughter every day, be with my good friend 3 days a week, earn a little money, and most importantly take part in a job that I think I will really enjoy.  Plus the added benefit of Sophia getting much needed socialization.  It's a win-win-win!! 
I know that with a class full of two year olds I'm probably not much more than a glorified babysitter...I know there will be things that we will do to bring some structure and learning to the day...but it will probably be a lot of playing and fun time.  I don't mind this at all, I have a feeling that my days are going to get a lot more interesting!! 
God definitely had a plan today....even though it was the most surprising and unexpected thing...and that means some big positive changes coming up for Sophia and me....and I couldn't be more excited about it!