Sophie's Terrible Two-Tu Bash

This year's birthday theme was Sophie's Terrible Two-Tu Bash. I'm not usually fancy or creative with things, but this year I decided to get crazy and make tu-tus for all of the little girls who would there (9!). The tu-tus doubled as decorations until the girls put them on. I also hung up a picture from each month that she has been around (I used these pictures ). That is about as far as my decorating and creativity goes. Other than seeing it in pictures, Sophie will never remember what her party looks like so who cares!
Anyway, Sophie had a great time at her party. She loved opening up her presents and cards and playing with them with her cousins and friends. Her favorite part of the day was being sung to and blowing out the candles on her cake. She could not keep the smile off of her face!
I think Sophie had a great time at her party! Thank you to everyone who came over and for all of her presents!

She loved the harmonica that her grandparents bought her.

The cake that her awesome Aunts, Sara and Kathy, made for her.

She jumped right up in her booster seat so she could see the cake better.

She loved having everyone sing to her.

She practically jumped towards the cake so she could blow her candles out.

She blew this candle out on her own (even though it looks like I was helping her. I did help with the second one though.)

Clapping along with everyone else.

She only took two bites of cake before she was finished. She sure looks like she was enjoying it though!

2 Year Check-up

Joe took Sophie went in for her check-up and flu shot today. She took her shot like a champ and didn't cry like she normally does when doctors are around (she still clung to Joe a little, but he said she warmed up after a few minutes). The most important thing about the visit was today's stats. Drum roll please....

Height: 31 inches, which makes her in the 1st percentile! She is actually on the chart for something!
Head circumference: 17 inches
Weight: 17 pounds

Whoo hooo! Sophie is finally 17 pounds! They weighed her with clothes on, but who cares! That is still a 12 ounce gain from the last time that they weighed her (also with clothes on). She is growing!

This was the first time that she has gone to the doctor's without them being worried about something. Yeah! She hit each of the developmental milestones that they asked about and they said everything else about her looked good. They don't want to see her until next year. So unless Sophie gets sick or has some major issues before she turns three, she doesn't have to go back to any of the doctors that she has seen multiple times over the past two years. No pediatrician...no cardiology...no GI! That is such wonderful news. I am so excited for Sophie!

17 Weeks

I keep looking out for signs about the gender of this baby. This week I've seen our boy's name a few times. This morning when one of my students was on the computer, I noticed they had an activity to do based on the book that our boy's name comes from. I've also heard one of our possible girls names today. I guess I'm not going to get a clear cut sign. That is okay. I can wait two weeks to find out. (More of my friends are thinking the baby is a boy than a girl. We'll see if they are right.)

How far along? 17 Weeks
Maternity clothes? I've washed a few pants and shirts, though really have only worn one pair of capris and a shirt. I'm sticking with my 'bigger' pants from before I lost weight and dresses. I'm going to have to start storing away prebaby clothes soon though.
Stretch marks? No new ones.
Sleep: I am sleeping a little better this week. Still waking up in the middle of the night, but I can fall back asleep pretty quickly.
Best moment this week: Going to the Jason Mraz concert yesterday. We have nicknamed the baby Raz (after Jason Mraz). It was nice to share that concert with my baby.
Miss Anything? Wine...blackberry wine....
Movement: I think I've felt some more flutters from the baby. Still not sure, so I'm waiting to feel some kicks.
Food cravings: chocolate
Anything making you queasy or sick: I puked again earlier this week in the morning. Just a tiny bit, but still. Both times I've gotten sick, Sophie is down by my legs asking if I'm okay. My sweet little girl.
Any pregnancy complications?: My sciatic nerve has still been acting up. Not as much as last week, but it still isn't pleasant.
Have you started to show yet: Yes. I can't wait until my stomach starts getting bigger and rounder.
Gender prediction: This week I had more of a boy feeling than my normal girl feeling. Who knows.
Looking forward to: Finding out the gender. Only two more weeks!

New Name, Same Blog

Since Sophie is 2 now, I figured it was time to rename this blog. So long "Look Out World, Sophie is ONE!" and hello "Good Things Come in Small Packages."

24 Months

My baby girl is 2 years old! 2!! How did that happen so quickly?! I can still remember everything about the day she was born...being induced...the contractions...getting the epidural...the doctor telling me that her heart rate was dropping every time I had a contraction...the decision to go ahead and have a c-section...the feel of medicines and fluid being pumped into my body...the ride to the OR...the birth...6:39pm...the sound of Sophie's first cry-she came out wailing...seeing Sophie for the first time...the shock of our baby being 4lb 7oz-a whole pound less than we were expecting...holding Sophie in my arms for the first time... I hope that I never forget these memories. It was the truly the best day of my life.

After having Sophie, I didn't want to miss a second of her growing up. So, every day for the past two years I have taken a picture of her. I've never missed a day of pictures. However, due to a recent computer crash, I lost three days worth of photos (not bad for 2 years, but it still makes me sad to not have those days). I love going through her pictures and seeing how she has grown. Now that she is two though, I might relax on the daily pictures and try for weekly ones. I can't give up my photo project completely because it seems like she is constantly changing, and I want to document that.

Since I've brought up documentation, I guess I should go ahead and do my last monthly update. I am so proud of my little girl. She has come a long way!

• As of last week, Sophie weighed 16lb 3oz. At one year she weighed 13lb 6oz, so she hasn't even gained 3 pounds this year. Even though that sounds worrisome, I am not going to be bothered by it. Sophie is strong and healthy so who cares about the number on the scale? Sure, she is still considered FTT, but she is following her own little growth curve and isn't losing weight. From all that I have read both in medical documents and through families' personal accounts, this all is very typical of IUGR babies. They just grow slowly. Some of those babies have other issues going on, but a lot of them have nothing else that appears to be 'wrong', just like with Sophie. So while she might not be in the same range as those 'normal' sized babies, she is right on target with her IUGR peers. That is good enough for me!

• Sophie's vocabulary keeps improving each day. She always surprises us with the new words that she can say or that she remembers. She is also stringing more words together.Over the past few weeks I have noticed her saying multiple 4-5 word sentences. That really impresses me. Heck, all of it does. (Of course with all of the hundreds of words that Sophie knows, she still won't say the word 'more.' She knows the sign for it, so she will just say 'mmm' and sign the word more. When we try to get her to say it, she just raises her eyebrows, smiles and says 'mmmmm.' Stinker.)
• Speaking of vocabulary, some of the ways that she pronounces words are so cute. For example, she can't pronounce the letter f, so when she says her name she says 'Sosie.' It is really adorable. (Her lack of saying the letter f had her saying 'suck' one day when I accidentally uttered a word that rhymes with suck in front of her. Oops and whew!) She also says 'tops' whenever she is trying to say 'stop.' Those little things make me smile. It won't be long until she starts saying them correctly, and I will miss her mispronunciations. (My heart still gets a little sad when she calls her cousin by her real name, Kaci, instead of Kiki.)
• If you sneeze or cough, Sophie will say 'bless you.'

• I still can't believe how active Sophie is. She is just as active as most 2 year olds, but after waiting so long for her to walk it really excites me. When I look back on older blog posts, I talk a lot about how I was worried when she wasn't walking. It was stressful seeing all of these other kids her age or even those 6 months younger than her walking when Sophie only wanted to crawl. Apparently crawling and walking later is another common IUGR issue. Thankfully she started walking before she turned 18 months and she has never looked back. I love watching her run around, spin in circles and jump. I wish that I could go back to when she was 12-17 months old and tell myself not to worry. She may have been late to the walking game, but she more than makes up for it now. 
• Sophie's memory for identifying things is really coming along. I'm about to get a little braggy (sorry), so if that annoys you then just move to the next bullet...Sophie can identify at least 15 different animals and the sounds that half of them make. (dog, cat, fish, bird, frog, cow, horse, pig, duck, elephant, monkey, giraffe, zebra, alligator, tiger, lion, and a few others depending on the day.) She also knows all of her body parts, including her chin, shoulders, neck, elbows, and her 'lady parts.' (The other day in the tub she randomly grabbed her self and yelled 'gyna.' Oh my.) She even knows where her palm is. Seriously? I have no idea where she learned that! She can count to 13, but she usually skips the even numbers (except for 2 and 10). She can spell her name, minus the letter 'h.'

• We are breaking the car seat rules. Kids are supposed to be at least 20 pounds before they face forward in their car seats. Sophie obviously won't hit that weight for awhile. We decided though that it was time to get her some forward facing seats. Joe installed her seats the day before school started for me so that Sophie could start the school year in a new seat. She loves it! I love it, too. She seems much happier in the car now.

• Sophie has peed on the potty a dozen times now. 5 of those being in the past week! I'm not going to push the potty training thing, but this is a great start. If we can get her peeing on the potty even a few times a week, I will be happy. If that doesn't happen, who cares. She is only 2 and has plenty of time to learn. (2...oh my goodness...she is 2!)
• Sophie is becoming more and more independent. There are many days when I try to put shoes on her or help her with something and she just brushes my hands away. At any given moment in our house you will here, "Sosie, too!" "Me try." "No. Sosie do it." "Sosie turn."  Bring on the terrible twos!

• Speaking of the terrible twos, one of Sophie's new 'tricks' is her fake cry. She has done this for awhile, but now it is even more dramatic...and more fake. She also has started putting her fingers in her ears when she doesn't want to listen. Oh, Sophie...

• Sophie still doesn't quite understand that I am having a baby. However, if we ask her where the baby is, she knows to point to my stomach. Sometimes she will lift up my shirt and kiss my stomach or 'talk' to the baby (usually there is some prompting for her to talk to the baby.) It is pretty sweet. I can't help but wonder what Sophie will be like when the baby is born. Jealous? Helpful? Mean? Loving? Who knows. There is a baby at her baby sitter's house a few times a week, so hopefully Sophie will get used to the sounds they make. Maybe she will get over any jealousy issues, too. I think she will be a good big sister though.
• Sophie seemed to really enjoy her birthday today. When we would ask how old she is she would tell us 'two!' When we tell her it is her birthday, she says, "Happy day!" and "Happy birthday." She loved when we sang happy birthday to her and she even tried to blow out the candles on her cupcake. Her favorite thing though was opening her presents. She was already tearing into them before I got them all on the floor next to her! She ripped the paper off and cheered happily at all the gifts. When all of the presents were opened and she finished playing with them, she looked around and said, "mmmmm presents" while signing the 'more' sign. She walked around the room looking for some more, calling out, "Presents!" Silly girl. I'm glad that she had a 'happy day.'

 I couldn't be prouder to be Sophie's mom. She is a strong, brave, smart, happy, silly and sweet little girl. I tell you, the best things come in small packages. I don't know who I would be without her. She has enhanced my life in so many ways. I never knew that I could love someone so much. She is my world! I can't wait to see what the future has in store for her.

Click the link below for more pictures from this month.

Sophie was basically the same size as this doll when she was a newborn. She was an inch or two longer than the doll, but the doll was wider than her. I used to take monthly pictures of her with the doll to show her growth. Look at them now!