Fall in the PNW

I am not good at this blogging thing... I started this post on Oct 27th. Oops.

I am seriously loving being in the pacific north west during the fall! Granted, we are now creeping towards winter, with the freezing cold mornings to prove it, but still! It's been SO beautiful! 

Mum and Sophie and I have been doing some hiking lately, which has been lovely. It's the perfect weather to hike - cold enough to necessitate bundling up a bit, instead of being too hot so you overheat!

Sophie LOVES being on my back! She gets to see everything that's going on, and keeps nice and warm! And it's so much easier for me to carry her, too, which is a lot of fun!

My favorite part might have to be her cute little red nose - no matter how many layers she has or hats she has, that little nose gets cold... Might be time to make her a balaclava?

My dear friend Heather came to visit recently which was a BLAST! I have been dying for her to meet Sophie, and she finally had a chance to come visit with her friend on their reading break at school. I played tour guide and took them around to the various spots in town, then we met mum and Picolos cellar for a wool, wine, and cheese night! It was so fun seeing her! Now I'm planning our trip to the island to visit her, once I get around to applying for passports for me and Sophie, that is...

We've also been spending some time with two super cute babies! I have been nannying twice a week for an awesome family in our ward. Their two babies are a week younger than Sophie and so freaking cute it kills me! The three of them are buddies. I love it!

Sophie is obsessed with them and they are liking her more and more each time we go over. They are such snugglers, the three of them, so my days are just spent with adorable smushy babies! It has also convinced me that I'm having triplets next time. Don't tell Steve.

Adventures in Sleep Training

Sophie was that dream baby that started sleeping through the night at a very young age. Lucky me! At one month she was sleeping six hours and at two months she was sleeping eight hours. Then, at four months she started waking up every. Three. Hours. 

Ewwwww

So at her six month appointment, her doctor suggested something I've been dreading - it's time for Sophie to sleep in her own room. She started out in a bassinet, then moved into a crib, but would somehow always end up in our bed. We weren't getting any sleep either! So last week we moved her crib into her own room. Not our room. Away. Down the hall. I dunno if you can tell, but I'm not a huge fan of it. Ideally, we'd have a massive King bed that we'd all share comfortably until Sophie turns three and decides to magically sleep in her own bed. I'll wait for you to stop laughing before I go on...

Sophie doesn't seem to mind sleeping in a different room than us! She won't nap in her crib, but it's a start at least. I am having to get up midway through the night but her wake up time is getting closer and closer to actual morning!

Cutest part? She is happy to fall asleep in her crib at night, as long as I hold her hand through the bars of the crib! Not super comfortable for me, but ohhhh so cute!

Anyone have any tips for me? I'm missing my eight hour nights...

Anxiety

Parent anxiety is a real thing, and I am full of it. Even before I had Sophie, while I was still pregnant, I had horrible anxiety. I was constantly scared that something was going to happen to Nellie, Steve, or the baby. Driving home from work, I'd think Nellie would be dead. That the house had burned down with her in it, or that it had flooded and she had drowned. I'd get home and everything would be fine. Then, around 7pm, it would start again but for Steve. What if a crazy gun man rampaged through his work and killed him? What if he gets in a car crash? What if there's an earthquake on the way home and he falls into a sink hole? Now that I have Sophie, those irrational feelings have gone, thank goodness. But they've been replaced by an entirely new set of fears. Every cough, every cry, every moment of too much silence, is a whole new fear. 

Today was a rash! She had her doctor appointment yesterday morning, and the doctor told us we need to start her more consistently on solid foods, and she had some shots, including her flu shot! This morning, she had a giant rash all over her back, legs, stomach, and head. I freaked out! Steve told me it was probably nothing, to give it a few days and see if it gets worse. Nope. I took her in, and it turns out he was right! It's possible it's an allergic reaction to either sweet potato or eggs, but more likely it's a heat rash from the fever she had last night. So that was definitely an overreaction on my part, and Steve is now calling himself a Doctor. 

She loves sweet potato, like her mama, so we just need to wait for the rash to go away and then reintroduce them. See if it happens again! Poor baby. In the meantime, I'm going to give her lots of snuggles, and try to control my freak outs for every sneeze, cry... And heat rash...

Autumn! Finally!

I am all about fall! Ha! The start of October is the best - it means falling leaves, pumpkins, and rainy days! It also means Christmas is coming soon! But everyone else in my life insists on waiting for Christmas excitement until December, so moving on...

We took Sophie to a pumpkin patch yesterday at the Nursery at Mount Si! It's basically the most picture perfect place ever. It's so cute! I absolutely love it! Sophie had fun too!

I'm not sure she was too convinced about this hay. It may have been a bit itchy.

The cart, however, was a lot of fun! And yes, those pumpkins are bigger than her! And she's wearing a witch hat with a witch shirt. I have no shame, so don't even ask. I feel great about it. 

There's a cat on her butt! I freaking love Halloween!

It's so gorgeous! Plus it was pretty quick and wasn't super crowded, so Steve didn't get too annoyed!

I was looking back on my Instagram to find our pumpkin picture from last year. I was pregnant with Sophie but we hadn't announced it yet! I was even wearing the same sweater! So glad Sophie was with us this year!

Sophie

I have the most beautiful baby in all of existence. Every mum says that, I know, but man do I love my little girl! 

I never thought I'd have a daughter. I assumed we'd have all boys like Steve's parents. I even spent the first half of my pregnancy talking to my "son"! But having Sophie is a dream! She has the sweetest temperament, smiles at most people but saves the biggest smiles for her favorites. She loves her Dad. She gives the slobberiest gummy kisses. She loves to grab faces and grabs my mouth while she nurses. I take way too many photos of her but I can't help it, I want to remember everything! 

Sometimes I'm worried that she'll think my phone is a part of me... That maybe I should put it down more and focus on the moment? I was laying in bed nursing Sophie and she looked up at me and gave me the sweetest smile. It's a little milky, a little sleepy, but I feel so much love in it. I immediately went to grab my phone to take a photo, but stopped myself. This is my smile. I'm the only one who nurses her and this is my reward. These moments are for Sophie and I to share, and they are fleeting. So instead I stared back into her eyes, smiled back at her, and stayed in the moment. Those are my smiles, smiles just for mama, and I'm going to keep them all to myself.