17 Months

I am loving January so far. Last year at this time we were preparing for a hospital trip so Sophie could get her feeding tube. I still get sad whenever I look at her 5 month pictures, thinking about how the very next day she would be getting the dreaded tube. This January we don't have to visit GI anymore. Thinking about that still excites me. Even more exciting is that we weighed Sophie in at 15lb 9oz! That is a huge jump in the past few weeks. (I did check Sophie's weight on our scale when we got home from GI and it was the same as they had. So unfortunately Sophie lost weight and our scale wasn't broken. At least she gained it back and then some!) I am so proud of my not-so-little one.

Here are some highlights from this month:

• New words: balloon, chocolate, poop, Pop Pop (for Grandpa), Kac (for Kaci), ice (imagine a country accent saying "iiiiice"), as well as many words that she will parrot, but doesn't use regularly.
• Sophie can go down the stairs now. She realized that she can go down the stairs the same way she gets off of the couch, which is on her belly. She turns around and zooms down the stairs! Adorable and scary.
• 3 new teeth have sprouted this month. This gives us a grand total of 12! I hope her mouth gives her a break for awhile.
• We have been working on getting Sophie to use forks and spoons. She has been doing pretty well and seems to enjoy using them. Sometimes she will fuss and not eat unless we give her a fork to use. We should have started this a long time ago, but our focus was on getting her to eat her to actually eat her food and not just play around (which is what she would do whenever I let her try out a utensil). She is doing okay with her utensils and tries very hard to get the food on it. They only serve as playthings half of the time, so I consider that a success.



• Sophie is trying out so many different foods. I am impressed with how adventurous she is getting. This doesn't mean that she likes everything that she tries though. If she doesn't like something, she will just pull it out of her mouth and hand it to us. Gross, but at least she is trying new things.
• Sophie still is taking steps (usually 2 or 3 at a time), but not walking. I've decided that it is equal parts her being stubborn and crawling is so much quicker for her. She generally doesn't crawl on all fours, rather scoots with one leg folded up. So if she has something she wants to carry, like a sippy cup, then she will just scoot around with it. Even crawling like this she can still get around quickly. Sophie has always done things on her own time and in her own way, so I am going to not worry about it.
• Sophie had a double ear infection right after Christmas. We are pretty sure that she had another this past week. We didn't take her to the doctor the second time around because she hates the medicine (she had only been off of it for two weeks) and we knew it would go away on its own. Poor kid.
• We bought a booster seat for Sophie to eat in. We had a high chair and it just didn't work for us. For the past few months we have let Sophie eat at her table or on our laps. This has worked out fine unless we actually want her in a chair, such as when we go out to eat or try to eat with family. So we decided that a booster seat would be best for Sophie. She seems to enjoy it so far. She will spend half of her meal in the seat before fussing to get down. Then she crawls over to one of us to sit in our lap and eat. I'll chalk that up as good compromising skills on her part.



"Meeting" the new seat



Enjoying some breakfast in her booster seat.

• Sophie can be so very sweet. Sunday morning Joe was at work and I was feeling horrible from what turned out to be a stomach flu. All I could do was lay on the couch and try to keep warm (and then cool, and then warm) while Sophie quietly played on the floor. Every once in awhile she would crawl over so I would pick her up to read her a book. One time when I pulled her up, she came over and wrapped her arms around my neck and just hugged me for a few minutes. So sweet. Later when I pulled her back up on the couch she put her head on my shoulder and napped with me. Sometimes she knows exactly what I need. I love this little girl!
• Earlier this month when we have gone out to eat Sophie has drank our water thought our straws. Of course she then would pull out the straw and play with it, but she could drink from a straw. My mom brought over some sippy cups with straws for Sophie to try. She loves them! She still will drink from her other sippy cups, but prefers the ones with straws. Don't try to put anything besides water in the cups though, as she will refuse to drink them. She doesn't like juice (at all really) or Pediasure in there, only water. At least she stays hydrated!



Trying out the new sippy cup for the first time. Look at how excited she is!

• Speaking of water, Sophie also loves ice chips. Whenever she hears me getting crushed ice from the fridge/freezer, she zips over so that she can get some. She loves it whenever I give her a cup of ice that is just for her. There have been a few nights when she wouldn't eat dinner until I bribed her with ice. If she took a bite, she would get a piece of ice. Whatever works. I'm just glad that I have a new 'trick' to try during difficult feeding days.

Click the link below for more pictures from this month.

This is my current favorite picture.

My friend Carla (Auntie Ca Ca) got Sophie some new clothes! Thanks, Auntie Ca Ca!

"Helping" me mix a crust for cheesecake. So messy but so much fun.

Napping on the couch with Daddy.



We discovered that Sophie likes garlic dipping sauce. That will add some calories to a meal!



Even after a bath she still smelled like garlic.

This is why Sophie's hair always hangs in her face. Any rubber band or hair clip I put in her hair get ripped out. She might leave them alone for a little while, but they never last long. I'm still not ready to part with her hair though.

She had her hand in each shoe and crawled across the room in them.

Upside down baby!

My messy faced girl

This is what she does when you ask her, "Where are your ears?"

"Where is your nose?" (followed by nose picking)

Sophie loves this cat that Morgan gave her. She will hug and kiss it, and always asks for it in the car. I think it is safe to say that cats are her favorite animals.

Drinking Joe's water