Mrs. Ca: February 2011

I don't write about my family on here much - there's nothing to complain about and bragging on how awesome my parents and siblings are would get tiresome for those reading, I'm sure. However, on top of all the big things I have going on personally - the new baby, only a few weeks of maternity leave left and the mixed feelings about that, and so much more - I also have to deal with the fact that my baby sister, who has never lived more than 90 minutes away from me, is moving all the way across the country in just a couple of weeks.

I also have to deal with the fact that my baby sister is in fact not a baby, but a big shot accountant who is moving in with her long-term boyfriend who is working on his Ph.D. She is definitely NOT a baby. I can't handle the fact that she's so grown up (or that my baby brother, the middle child, is now in his late 20s; how did we all get so old?), or that she'll live a 30 hour car ride away instead of a quick hour and a half.

I'm happy for her, I really am, but I am going to miss her like absolute crazy. Not only is she my sister, she's also one of my very best friends and one of the coolest people I know. She's also one of Gabbie's absolute favorite people. We're all excited for her new adventure but also prone to tears at the drop of the hat when we think about how infrequently we'll get to see her. We already get teary every time we think about how infrequently we get to see my brother, who lives on the East coast, and he's only 9 hours away.

It's time, though, for her to move on to the next phase of her life. She'll be able to come home at least a few times a year, although her first trip back isn't scheduled until September. In the meantime, thank goodness for Skype!

It has finally happened: Sophie let me put her down for more than two seconds (it's actually been over an hour now that she has been sleeping in her crib) (and I probably will hear from her in two seconds now that I've typed that), and I remembered about this blog thing I have and how I desperately want to update more for me, so that I can remember things, than for anyone else.

Since I have a ton of little things I want to put up here, it's bullet time!

Gabbie is adorable with Sophie. She wants to help me with everything, including and especially diaper changes, giving Sophie her binky, and is constantly on the quest to get Sophie to hold her finger. She calls her Little One, Lil' Peanut, and Sophs (as do we all). She has just a little bit of jealousy happening, but it's really not too bad; just an occasional "I want you, Mom" when I have been holding onto Sophie for a while.
Aaron is also pretty adorable with Sophie. You can tell that each of his girls hold a special place in his heart. The cutest thing is that there are things that are Gabbie's or were Gabbie's that he's insisting are just hers - her special nickname, the dress she wore for her first portraits, etc. And then he insists on bonding time with Sophie (She has a strong Mommy preference and we're working to break her of it just a little). There's nothing I love more than watching him with his daughters.
Speaking of the strong Mommy preference, it's mostly because Mommy has "the Goods." If she could, Sophie would be attached 22-7. She needs a little time to look around, otherwise it would be 24-7. Also, "the Goods" are doing their job well. At her one month appointment yesterday (at six weeks, due to being previously cancelled for snow) she measured 9 lbs. 15 oz. (up exactly 2 pounds from birth), and 23 3/4 inches (up 2 3/4 inches from birth), landing her in the 50th percentile for weight and 98th percentile for height. Gabbie has always been about 5th to 10th percentile for weight and about 95th percentile for height, so this slightly chubbier baby thing is new to me (and I love it). And I apparently grow them tall.
Due to Gabbie's history of hip dysplasia, we had to take Sophie in to Gabbie's orthopedist for an ultrasound, because the condition can be genetic. The doctor doing the ultrasound said something about being able to move her right hip out of socket, and a harness, and my heart sunk. I so didn't want to deal with hip issues again! However, when we saw our actual doctor, she said everything looks fine, she's way above the threshold for acceptable, and we'll do an x-ray at 6 months just to make sure everything is still developing correctly. I think people two rooms over could hear our sighs of relief.
Sophie is smiling, and it melts my heart every time she does it. She's also much more alert these days and is trying to grab for things (her aim is still horrible, though). We're getting to see much more of her personality everyday, and I have to say: I'm so in love with this girl.
It's a good thing she's mastered the smiling thing, because the six week growth spurt has hit us. Hard. She doesn't like to sleep or really do anything but be held and to nurse at least every hour for most of the day. It's rough. Even though we hadn't been swaddling her, it looks like we're going to have to start that up again, because we tried it overnight and it has allowed her to sleep on her own for much longer stretches than we had been getting out of her. Which is excellent, because we're all in desperate need of some sleep.
We decided to do cloth diapers with Sophie, and I have to say I really like them. We've made a couple of tweaks to make the system work for us, but even Aaron is finally on board (he liked the idea if not the reality at first). The only thing we're bad at is letting her stay in one for two long from time to time, meaning that whoever is holding her gets wet. Hey, it could be worse.

And now, for some pictures of my adorable girls: