9.11.2011

remembering...

8.27.2011

the hurricane

a hurricane is coming our way. it feels surreal to me. as i watched our bathtub fill with water, i thought of the many natural disasters that happen around the world and the people that are affected.

i thought about hurricane katrina, about the aftermath and the many flooded homes. i remembered the oily soot on the floor of the home we demolished, the photo albums that were destroyed from the water, the mice and roaches that jumped out of the wall we broke down, the piles and piles of belongings that once meant something to someone, now unusable...

we're praying for mercy and for the hurricane to lose speed and head east into the water. pray with us knowing that our God is a powerful and merciful God.

5.05.2011

you are one.

dear sophia,
you turned 1 yesterday! :) time has really flown by just as everyone said it would.

we were so happy to finally meet you!
i look at you and marvel at who you have become. sounds silly since you've only turned 1 but you've changed so much. in the beginning, you were so little (2 days past term and at a teeny 5lbs 11oz) and completely dependent on us. you looked like daddy, slept super well, nursed ok (though i thought 'never enough'), enjoyed observing everyone and were super mellow. in the early months, you made 'dinosaur' squeaks, slept with your hands in mid-air, spit up A LOT (sad), and often smiled in your sleep. your chubbiest ever was at 2 months when you were a whoppin' 18%! :) hehe. your cheeks were so full then and your legs had a few extra folds!


you always had so many different cute expressions within seconds of each other. mommy would snap away on the camera and would have 10 totally different photos within seconds. daddy always had so much fun looking at them too.






every day we read together. it's one of my favorite things to do with you. you used to stare at the photos, now you always turn the pages for us. mommy loves when you chuckle because you think something is funny.


you learned how to roll over, sit, crawl, pull up and walk while holding onto something. you started eating solids at 6 months and found much enjoyment in gaining ability of the pincer grasp. each day you seem to learn something new. it's exciting for mommy to see you develop each day.

there's so much more to say but mommy doesn't have time right now since your birthday party is on saturday and mommy has a few things to take care of! :)

we'll end with a few photos of some fun times you've recently had. we love you dear sophia.

at the playground. you are crawling and pulling up everywhere!

our first time at the conservatory garden in central park. :)

momma discovered something that you love to do!

we also realized that you LOVE doggies. this is shyla, the sharpae

oh, how you laughed so happily, esp when she licked your forehead!

at the brooklyn botanic gardens. to see the cherry blossoms. :)

back at the playground. you so enjoy this tic-tac-toe game.

4.18.2011

i'm so confused. what happened to my daughter who loves to sleep? after a week of sleeping terribly, i thought sophia wanted to transition to 1 nap. we started fresh today by going out for a nice walk to the playground and i brought her back around 11 ready to implement this new plan. she seemed plenty tired but when i placed her into her crib at 11.40am (that's nearly 5 hrs of wake time which is not her norm), she did not go to sleep.

first she talked to herself and cried a little, then she sat up and scaled the crib bars. suddenly, she fell backwards and i heard the *thunk* of her head hitting the mattress and then some more cries. she proceeded to get up and is now half mumbling and half crying while up on her knees.

WHAT IS GOING ON? it's so frustrating to watch an extremely tired baby girl not go to sleep. it's also so frustrating to not know how to help her.

:(

4.15.2011

transitioning from 2-1 naps

i never thought sophia would transition from 2 to 1 naps so early. she is 11.5 months and this past week she's been fighting her naps (and subsequently, bedtime) like mad. it drove me UP THE WALL since she normally sleeps so so so so well. it seemed she made a conscious decision on Tuesday to stop napping. WHAT???

looking online provided other accounts of similar experiences and made me realize that sophia, at 11.5 months may not be too young to transition over. it also gave me some hope that this is indeed what was happening to our previous sleep champ and not that she was just going to fight us for the hell of it.

on Tuesday, i put her down for her usual 1st nap at 915am and she cried til 1115, then slept til 12, when i woke her because the book i like says it's ok to wake them if you're trying to maintain their schedule. she refused her second nap which was at 250.

on Wednesday, i put her down for her usual 1st nap at 930am and she cried til 1130, then slept til 1250 when she woke on her own. friends had suggested i let her sleep as long as she wanted. instinctually, i knew this would be bad news for her 'schedule' but really, our schedule was not much of a schedule since she was rebelling all naps. i didn't put her down for her second nap since she wouldn't have slept and then it would have cut too close to bedtime.

on Thursday, i started really losing it. i put her down for her usual 1st nap at 930am (3 hrs after she woke on that day) and she cried for 2 hrs and then i finally picked her up since it became apparent that either she wasn't going to nap at all or she would nap but would miss her lunch and any play time for the day. i was so upset. we went out for lunch since i thought the fresh air would do us both good, got her back and put her down for her '2nd' nap at 145. she fell asleep so quickly - i thought it was magic and was so thankful for the peace and a sleeping baby. she slept for 2 hrs and then woke but when i went to get her, she started crying. in past times, this means that she's not ready to be picked up. still, i was already in her room so i picked her up. she continued to fuss and cry so i just put her back in her crib and within a few minutes, she was back asleep. she slept til 440pm, when i decided it was time to make some noise and wake her up since i had to preserve her bedtime.

this is when i really started to think that maybe our sophia was asking for just 1 longer nap. it didn't really make sense since she still seemed tired and ready for a nap in the morning hr (aka 1st nap) but she wasn't taking it. still, i had to try one more time.

so, on Friday (today), i put her down at 1015am (my logic being that maybe she just needed a little more wake time in the a.m.) and she just sat in her crib and talked and cried until i picked her up at 1140am. again, i was seething and not understanding why she didn't just nap when it seemed she wanted to nap. we ate lunch and i put her down at 110pm. she fell asleep shortly after. and she's waking now, at 320pm.

hopefully this entry will bring light to another mommy struggling to figure out why the sudden change in her child's sleep routine. when did your child transition from 2-1 naps and how did you know this was what was happening?

4.09.2011

our trek to bay ridge, brooklyn ::

today, sophia and i went to her buddy's 1st birthday party. it was a beautiful day in new york and after her first nap, we ate lunch and then were on our way. the party was in bay ridge which is abut 1.5 hrs away from our home.

i am amazed by our little sophia. God has given us a baby girl with such a mellow and sweet temperament.

on the subway, she smiled and giggled with people and imitated their hand motions and head bobbles. when we crossed the bridge from nyc to brooklyn, she gazed out the window, her eyes filled with curiosity. when we arrived at my friend's apartment, she played on the ground by herself and had numerous 'conversations' with the other guests. my heart is filled with love for my baby girl.

3.30.2011

wordless wednesday.

3.25.2011

give . every . day

there's a blog i ran into called give every day. a mama, whom i found via the internet world, and her family have pledged to: spend intimate, quantity (yes, they intentionally wrote "quantity"- read to find out what they mean) time with each other, to actively help the poor, the sick, the lonely and the helpless, to value protect and advocate for children, to de-emphasize the importance of "stuff" in their lives, to bring publicity to good causes and good people, to live with intentionality, as if this year were their very last, to observe the needs in their community/our country - and then do something about them, and to give - every day. when i first heard of this, they were in the midst of selling their home and nearly all their belonging in prep for this journey.

now, they are on day #48. it's amazing to read of their life and see that they are truly living fully with real purpose for Him. i love their answer to the question "what compels you to do this?" their answer is the hope that we have in Jesus. can i get an AMEN!

calvin and i were just saying last night how easy it is to fall into the cultural norm of wanting more. more of everything. we are extremely blessed to have a comfortable home with plenty of food, clothes and luxuries and yet, it's so easy to look around and see what we don't have. or what we want more of. it's a dangerous mindset to have for so many reasons of which i won't go into now. more importantly, it's a mindset that i don't want to own because i know that these things do not matter because this world is only temporary.

i am inspired by the scheaffers, by their pledge and by the fact that they are actually living out true lives of sacrifice and purpose all for His glory. i don't think calvin, sophia and i would ever have the balls to do something like this but you never know.... in Him, lots of things are done that were once believed impossible. in the meanwhile, spending more time with the Lord and in His Word and reading what the scheaffers are up to will hopefully begin the heart transformation i desire within.

3.17.2011

{HELP JAPAN} every little bit helps

100% of all proceeds from your purchase via my etsy shop will go to relief efforts in Japan via Samaritan's Purse - Japan Relief Project.

every little bit helps.

3.12.2011

sick sophia

sophia woke up this evening crying. our philosophy is to leave her because she knows how to soothe herself. after a little while, she was still crying somewhat hard which is unusual for her. i decided to go in and our poor sweet pea had snot running down her nose and had spit up on her arm and the crib sheet. i felt so bad having waited so long. note to self: trust my instincts. if i had, i would've gone in much earlier and she wouldn't have had to smell her own nastiness with snot running out of her nose. my poor baby.

in better thoughts: sophia is blossoming. in just one week, she went from only knowing how to push herself backwards to dragging her body forwards with mostly the use of her arms and some legs. she has also become much better at standing while holding onto something. all very adorable for parents to witness. she is also getting her 7th tooth which is likely the reason for the running nose.

sophia at 10 months
much to our delight, sophia is finally standing with her feet securely on the ground.
previously, she only stepped on her tippy tippy toes. :) cute but not practical.

2.22.2011

pray for kate

please continue to pray for kate. for those who are new here, the short of it is that kate is a 7 year old girl who has a brain tumor. she seemed to be on the recovery and then on february 1st 2011, an MRI showed 2 new lesions. a PET scan was done and unfortunately, the lesions were found to be cancerous.

her mom has a blog which is updated regularly. prayer is all i can think to do.

please join me and pray for her and her family.

2.18.2011

new york city with a {baby}

my eyes carry a different perspective now that i have a little sophia in tow. when i walk the streets, i see other moms (and nannies) with carriers or strollers and give them a smile. when i am in restaurants, i am astonished at the lack of high chairs (or broken high chairs) and/or booster seats. i frequent the zoo and playgrounds in central park that in my 9+ years of new york living have not been to. i've learned of fun things for sophia (and me) to participate in - the recreation center has open play time, fao schwarz and the new york public library have story time, etc. it's a whole different city!

in central park on a beautiful february day.
photo taken by a fellow mommy friend.