Bummed

I'm kind of bummed right now. Sofia has ear infection number 7. Yes SEVEN, if anyone else is counting. The poor little soul is all stuffy and coughing with phlegm. And when number six struck, she wasn't responding to the oral antibiotics, so her doc gave her three injections of a different antibiotic. Three days in a row of shots. Poor baby. It did the trick though and she was better. For about two weeks. Now with ear infection number seven, her doc just started the injections instead of messing around with oral antibiotics. She's had two so far and gets injection number three tomorrow. The thing is, she doesn't seem much better. And this worries me. We've already been referred to an ear, nose, and throat specialist for her. The appointment is in about a week. It will totally SUCK if she has to get tubes put in her ears. I know she wouldn't be the first baby to ever get them (if it came to that), but still.

And I'm bummed that tomorrow begins yet another stressful week at work for me. Not looking forward to that.

And I'm bummed that I have no idea what to do about Sofia's birthday. See, we want to have a gathering, but we want to keep it small. But we also want to have kids here because Sofia loves looking at other kids. She LOVES it. And when I start thinking of who to invite, my mental list just gets longer and longer and then I start worrying of what the hell we're going to do at this party. I mean, all I have in the living room is a couch. No loveseat, no chairs. Where will people sit? Okay, so I have four chairs for my beat-up, passed down, secondhand dining set. The seats of which, are made of that straw stuff, and they are falling apart. We can't sit outside because it will be August in Texas which is just crazy. No one in their right mind would sit out in the 100 degree heat with no shade (thanks to the lack of trees in these subdivisions) and mosquitoes attacking in full force. Oh, and I don't have enough chairs for people to sit outside anyway. Okay, and back to who I'm going to invite. My family won't come because they all live about 230 miles away. Not exactly drive-out-for-the-day distance. So that leaves a handful of my closer, local friends. None of whom have kids. My friends who do have kids are co-workers and I feel bad inviting some, but not others. And even if I could get over that, then there's the issue of having to clean the house and make it look presentable for people who have never been here before. Oh my god, the list goes on...And if we have kids here, what am I supposed to do to ensure they are entertained? We can't go outside and hit a pinata because it will be too hot. Oh, and there is no tree from which to hand the pinata. Man, this sucks.

And lastly I'm bummed because the house search is just not going well. And there was one house that we both liked, but it was very small and the distance I would have to drive to work would be very far (probably about a 50-minute commute), and we talked for many days about it. Could we live in a 1000 square foot house? The yard? was amazing. The neighborhood was cool, but the house was tiny (but it was a very clean, nice little house). Well, we talked and talked. And looked at other houses in the meantime. And looked and looked. And I finally started warming up to the the idea of the house, when I noticed today that there is an option pending on it. I guess I started feeling all this regret at not acting sooner. But I guess I shouldn't feel that way because the whole reason we didn't act right away is because we weren't 100% sure and if we weren't 100% sure...well, you know. Still, I couldn't help but feel sick about it. Kind of like someone punched me in the stomach. And I feel even worse that Robert was in a big hurry to sign a contract at first, but it was only one of the first houses we had seen, and I was the one who was like, "let's not be so hasty", and now I feel like it's my fault we won't get the house. It really is a great house. Even though it's small. It even has a cat door in the kitchen to the backyard. Oh, well. Enough of that. I just have to keep telling myself that we'll find the right place. Even if I'm crazy by the time we move in.

Eleven months

Dear Sofia,
You are eleven months old today. You are getting bigger and bigger and smarter and smarter with each passing day. I am always amazed at how much you know. You took your first steps a little over a week ago and already you are taking nine, ten steps at a time! You have caught on quickly, my love, and decided that walking is what it's all about. You get up, walk a bit, fall. Get up, walk, fall. Over and over. I love that you keep trying, each time getting a little farther.

You point to your feet when we ask you. You point out the lights on the ceiling when asked. You actually say "Duck!" when I show you your rubber ducky and ask what it is. Duck and "Da Da" remain the two words you have down. I think you say kitty, but it comes out more like "gehdeh". It sounds beautiful. You do so many things, I've lost track. You do a cute little dance when you hear music.

You are a very strong willed little girl, protesting with all your might when we take something away from you. Your daycare teacher says you won't have any problem standing up for yourself when you move into the one-year-olds' room. Gosh, Sofia, I can't believe you're almost a whole year old.

Sofia, I love you with all my heart and soul. You are so beautiful and wonderful and perfect. You'll always be my baby.

Love,
Mari

I totally forgot

...to mention that Sofia took three steps yesterday! We were in our living room and she was standing a small distance away from the coffee table and she took three steps towards the coffee table and didn't fall! Oh my beautiful, beautiful baby is turning into a beautiful, beautiful toddler.

Complete with tantrums. Yeah, I forgot to mention that too.

She has small fits when I take things away from her. Often resulting in her biting either me or herself. She bites like a declawed cat. It's not pretty. I hope this biting thing doesn't become a problem.

And I also forgot to mention that she had this weird rash this past week, and when I took her to the doctor her doc said it was Hand Foot Mouth disease. Common in the summer and contagious. Luckily hers wasn't too bad, with only the rash. She still ate pretty well and never got a fever. I knew she must have gotten it at daycare. Sure enough, when I mentioned it to her daycare teacher I was informed that, "Jake had a rash like that too last week. His was a lot worse." Nice. Ugh. I could do without all the germs and the colds and the rashes and the ear infections that come with daycare.

Sorry

Gosh, this blog is really boring. I hate reading blogs that are never updated. So I guess I hate reading this blog because I suck at updating it. I know it only takes a moment to post, but for some reason I can't make time. Sorry.

Anyway, congrats to Alfredsmom! She gave birth to Emma Grace on June 28, 2006! I'm so happy for their family! It's so exciting to see all the pic's and remember what it all felt like. I never did a birth story like I wanted but I did write down most of the details on paper. Maybe I'll document it all the web yet.

Sofia is actually napping and Robert is occupied so I have a moment to write.

I have been super busy at work with the launch of of the space shuttle and the ongoing mission. In fact, I have to work today at 3 pm. Ugh. Working on a Saturday. I worked last weekend too and much of the past two weeks during strange hours, and it was rough on all fo us. Robert and I trying to juggle our schedules is not fun. But even though the hours are long and the job is sometimes stressful, it's times like these that remind me why I do like my job. And even with the on-going mission and all the craziness about, I still had to make time in the middle of my day to go and pump breastmilk. There are security guards everywhere during a mission searching bags, and checking badges and stuff. I felt a little weird opening my purse for them to search, then my computer bag, and then my breast pump. But I got over it quickly. In fact, it makes me proud for people to see my breast pump and to let them know that women actually do this. And I was very surprised to stumble upon a "nursing moms' corner" in one of the restrooms in the Mission Control Center building. It was partitioned off from the rest of the restroom and had a stack of magazines and breast milk guidelines posted on the wall and I was very excited about the whole thing. And then yesterday as I was on my way to pump, I saw another woman next to a break area sink washing breast pump parts. It made my day. It may seem strange to people that all of this makes me happy, but only a breastfeeding mom understands its challenges. And only a breastfeeding/working-outside-the-home/pumping-every-damn-day mom understands how hard it is. I wanted to hug that woman. But I just kept walking. With my head a little higher.

Well, enough of that. Lately Robert and I have also been looking at houses. We want to buy one soon, but that is a whole other stressful situation entirely. We found one we like and we're going to look at it again tomorrow, but it's far from where I work and the house is very small. It would be about a 45 minute commute to my job. Right now I drive 30 minutes. I hate that Houston is so spread out. It's ridiculous.

So between house hunting, working this mission and the upcoming mission (scheduled to launch on August 28th!), trying to figure out if I'm going to do anything for Sofia's first birthday and everything else that keeps me busy, I'm pretty much going crazy. Wish me luck!

Sofia: Ten (and a half) months

Dear Sofia,
You are ten and a half months old. I was pregnant with you last year at this time! I haven't been that great about recording your birthday on the mark these days, but your daddy and I always wish you a happy birthday with each month you grow older. And I can't believe how the months just slip by. You turned ten months old on June 24th. You are right around 23 lbs and growing like a weed!

Over the past month and half you have sworn off Gerber baby foods. You eat nothing but big people food. You eat all kinds of veggies. And you especially love broccoli. You eat chicken, crackers, pasta, ravioli...pretty much everything. And you love feeding yourself. And if we try to pull a fast one and give you some jarred baby food you turn your nose up and try to hit the spoon out of our hands! The exception is fruit. You still love the Gerber fruit. I've started giving you Mott's applesauce too, and you love it. You are also a big fan of yogurt. Your dad and I have to watch out whenever we're snacking and you spot us because you come over to us and practically attack us for whatever it is we're eating. Sometimes you're worse than the cats!

You're still talking plenty and say "dada" pretty well. You also try very hard to say "kitty cat", and you adore the cats! I worry about them scratching you because you are constantly poking and pulling at them. So far, no scratches. It is so adorable when you get to Whiskers because you rest your little head on her and put your arms around her. It's so sweet the way you show affection. You do that to me and your dad too when we lie on the floor with you.

I heard you say "duck" the other day. Only it was more like "duh!" when I sang Old MacDonald. Then you followed it with "kah" when I did the quacking. You're getting there Wee, you're getting there. When I sit with you and point out colors and animals, I see the look in your eyes like you're really trying to figure it all out and make sense of it all. You're dad and I were so excited when you figured out how to put the balls through the tunnel on your Leap Frog toy. It is absolutely amazing watching you learn and hearing the excitement in your voice.

We took you to the beach a few times in June, and you loved it. You got a little tan despite all the sun screen I slathered on you. My little golden girl. My friend J came to visit with her son last month. He is almost three years old and you loved watching him and crawling after him. We went to beach together and to Moody Gardens to see the aquarium. There was a moment while I was holding you and you were watching the fish with such awe and wonder where I just wanted to bawl like a baby. I was so touched by the look of amazement in your eyes. You kept pointing your beautiful little chubby finger at the fish swimming by. I love you so much Sofia.

I think you're pretty close to walking. You get braver and braver everyday and are already standing up from a sitting position. You squat and then stand. It is so cute. Sometimes you start shaking your hands and then you fall, as if the excitement is just too much!

You can point out mama's and daddy's ears and noses when I ask you where your nose and ears are. You point to lights when I ask where they are. You point to cats when I ask where they are (and squeal with excitement).

You have another ear infection. This brings the grand total to six. It is very hard for me and your dad to see you sick so often, but you respond well to antibiotics and I'm hoping we don't ever have to get tubes in your ears.

Your dad and I are looking to buy a house, Sofia. A house you can call your very own. A house with trees and yard just for you. I hope we find one soon. I want the very best for you.

When I look at you, Sofia, I feel awe and wonder. You are the most amazing person I have ever met. I love discovering the world with you.

Love,
Mama