A few Prayer Requests

Dear friends of the blog world, your prayers are needed for 3 different families.

First, there's the H family. Their baby boy, Caleb, was born 8 weeks early on May 29. He's currently in the NICU trying to grow stronger each day. There is no word on when he'll be home. He was 2lbs 11.5oz at birth and just this week passed the 3lb mark. I believe he is at 3 lbs, 11oz currently and was able to come off the feeding tube for a short time this week.

Baby Caleb

Second is the T family. They also had a baby boy arrive 8 weeks early on June 15. What's with these boys showing up too soon!? Baby Evan is also in the NICU growing stronger each day. He's now breathing on his own but still has his feeding tube. I don't have his weight stats but know the initial thought was 3-4 weeks in the NICU.

Baby Evan

Last, my friend K could really use some prayers. Her brother, C, is in the ICU in New Zealand on dialysis and life support. He had jaundice and has ended up with liver and kidney failure. K is in the states and, understandably, beside herself with worry.

Please keep all these families in your prayers. They all need strength to get them through the long days ahead.

It's 10PM.....

Do you know where your child is?

Ours is here:

Who knew sleeping with your butt in the air could be so darn cute!

Budding Photographer?

Or what happens when the Little Miss decides to "help" take pictures of Daddy on Father's Day:

Not as bad as the first but still not focused. I think I have all of maybe 3 shots where she wasn't pulling on the camera or smacking at it. Ornery thing!

Here are a couple shots of my two favorite people on Father's Day:

Happy 7 Months my sweet Sophie Grace.

You brighten our lives so much!!

Confession time

They say confession does the soul good, right? Well, I have a confession to make.

At just one day shy of seven months old, Sophie is still in our bedroom. She's sleeping in her pack and play - bassinet portion. I know, I know...I can hear all your gasps and the shaking of your heads. We've had every intention of moving her out for months now. At first it was "Let's get her sleeping through the night again." This was said after our trip to Missouri. In March. Yes, MARCH! Oh she's been sleeping through the night since then, we just haven't moved her. Then it was "Wait until I get the shelving up in her room." Yeah, still hasn't happened.

And now? Well, the logical part of my brain knows we'd ALL sleep better with her in her room. It's right next to our room so it's not like she wouldn't be close by. The irrational Mom part of my brain? Well that side is just silly. I've gotten so used to having her in the same room. I LIKE knowing I can hear her wiggle. I LIKE knowing she's an arm's length away if she needs me. I LIKE when she wakes up in the morning, Y will pick her up and put her in bed with me so we can snuggle while he lets the dogs out and prepares her bottle. I LIKE having her near, dangit!

*Sigh* I never thought I'd be this way. So attached, so afraid to let her go - even if it is just to the next room.

In other miscellaneous news, Sophie's Great Gram passed away June 9th. It was a difficult week watching her go but we all know she's at peace and in a much better place now. Since there was so little family left and those that were, were not in good health to travel, she was cremated and we'll honor her life when we decide where to spread her ashes.

Sophie's first tooth.
Taken just one day before tooth #2 popped through.

Miss S can now crawl. BACKWARDS! She gets up on all fours, starts rocking, then goes backwards. I laugh every. single. time. She doesn't think it's so funny some days. Her second, bottom tooth popped through on Thursday. Ahhhhhhh! My baby girl is growing up!

Happy Father's Day!

To all the dads and dads-to-be I hope you have a day filled with all your favorite things!

To my sweet, sweet Y:
Happy Daddy's Day to one of the BEST Daddy's around. We love you!!

xx
-S & J

A Lesson in Chinese Heritage

Y is half-Chinese. His mother was born in China and his grandfather served as Ambassador to China in several different countries over the years. Those of you familiar with the Chinese culture know that they have specific name designations for each family member and the name changes depending upon birth order and whether the person is male or female.

When Sophie was born, we spent numerous conversations with Y's mother and the various family members to determine just exactly what everyone should be called.

Here's what we came up with:

First there's Sophie' grandparents (Y's parents) known as Yeye (yay-yuh) and Nana:

Next there is Sophie's Aunt (Y's sister). A quick aside - when Y and his sister were born they were given an English first name and Chinese middle name. Y's sister chose to go by her English name, Leslie, but is called by her middle name, Tchi, when she's around her Chinese family. Y, on the other hand, chose to go by his middle name. Confused yet? Anyway, back to Sophie's Aunt, known as Gou Ma (Goo-ma):
Then there's Sophie's Great Grandmother, whom she has yet to meet, known as Da Nana:

(I was pregnant in this picture with Da Nana. She looks great for 89, huh?)

Lastly, there are Y's aunt and uncle. To us they are known as Ayee (I-ee) and Jojo. To Sophie they will be Da Ayee and Da Jojo. Sophie has yet to meet them as they live in Massachusetts and Florida respectively.

Da Ayee and Great Uncle Ven (don't ask why he has an "American" designation when he's Chinese, too. Our family is weird!):

Da Jojo and Hong (Jojo married late in life and we're not sure how to refer to his wife who is Vietnamese):

We're still trying to determine how we will teach Sophie their real names since most families refer to their relatives as "Aunt Mary" and "Uncle Bob". The child has a chance to learn their real names. In the Chinese culture, the relatives are just known by their designation. I've been a part of this family for 11 years now and there are times I'M still confused!!

Tuesday Tidbits

Overheard in our house over the weekend:

Y: We need to go to Hawaii.
Me: Oh yeah?
Y: Yes.
Me: Why do we need to go to Hawaii?
Y: Sophie said she wanted to go.
Me: Oh?
Y: Yep, she said Oahu when I got her out of bed this morning.
Me: ::giving Y an "uh-huh suuurrre" look::
Y: No, really she said "Ahh waa hoo!"

Would you really want to take someone THIS messy to Hawaii???

6 Month check-up and update

Sophie's 6-month stats:
Weight: 14lbs 10z (she's a peanut!)
Height: 26 inches
Head: 41.5cm

She's doing great as far as development and growth. She had a rough time with the shots this time but part of it was her stranger anxiety kicking in. She'd cry everytime she saw the nurse, who is as sweet as can be!

In other news she's making progress with crawling. She cracks me up when she gets up on her knees but doesn't lift her arms. She scoots forward, butt in the air.

The big news is her first tooth has finally popped through! This happened yesterday morning and man are those baby teeth sharp!

While we're excited with her progress, our family is dealing with some stressful times. Sophie's Great Gram was hospitalized yesterday and the prognosis is quite grim. We're all preparing for the worst. My only wish was Sophie was able to know her when she'd been a spunky, independent woman. Despite her small stature, Gram had a huge personality and we're all very sad to have seen that person disappear. I never wish for a life to end but we know Gram is not happy in her current condition. Keep our family in your thoughts as we deal with this difficult time.