Bubbles

 "I wish I loved anything as much as my kids love bubbles"
-Paul Rudd "Knocked Up"

Or in this case, I wish I loved anything as much as my kids AND my dogs love bubbles. And yes, I'm writing at 8:15am because both of my children are still asleep. I am teetering between happiness and worried-ness. About time to wake those lazy kids up!

(And yes, she always wears this dress. I've already packed away her winter clothes and per the cray cray weather here in KY, we still need winter gear, um, only every other day. So this is her warmest spring time outfit; plus jacket, leggings and sneaks.)

                                           

My firstborn

Cooper (4yrs) and Maddox (5yrs), Boxers.

I've been doing a lot of worrying about how to still make sure Sophie doesn't feel left out or neglected when baby Barber comes along (hey baby: how bout now?). But my friend Heidi was quick to remind me how upset I had become in the days leading up to Sophie's birth that my other two firstborn would not get any love or attention and therefore hate me.

Well, Maddox and Cooper managed just fine, in case you were wondering. They were given big Christmas stockings full of treats and toys (which lasted approximately 17 minutes before eaten or destroyed), and though they were relegated to the family room instead of sleeping in our room, they quickly took over the couch and still maintained special places in our family.

This time around is a little different. They've been following me around the house non-stop (Cooper takes my afternoon nap with me every day and Maddox doesn't let me out of her site at all). I keep telling Bryan that dogs have sixth senses and maybe this means the baby's arrival is imminent. Bryan says our dogs don't have the normal five senses and therefore my theory is null and void. Hm. We don't have to agree on everything.

I'm confident that Sophie will survive the addition of a sibling, but I'm still open to any and all advice on how to make this transition easier for her!

One of my favorite suggestions thus far has been to make her a special goody basket of some treasured new toys, coloring books, etc that she only gets to play with when mommy is feeding baby and has her hands full.

I would love to hear from others, too! Please send my way if you can!

So long, summer

And the bathing suits were hung by the front door with care... in hopes that the summer just wasn't quite over yet. (Soon to be replaced by stockings, mittens, toboggans.... phew!) I believe we are entering into the two weeks of the year that Charlotteans quit complaining about the weather; which I am thankful for for two reasons. 1. Fall in the Carolinas is magical and 2. I'm tired of people complaining about the weather. For me, fall equals football, festivals, winter vegetables, fires and hot chocolate, to name a few. But still, the end of Sophie's first summer is bittersweet. We checked a lot of things off of the proverbial list this summer: trips to the beach, swimming lessons, pool parties, park swings, long walks, music class, and I'm a little sad that she'll never wear those cute little swim suits again! On our last day of summer today, Sophie and I went to get a pedicure. She was a great lap baby smiling and playing with the remote for mommy's massage chair - it was a nice trip out of the house!

All good things must come to an end, so, farewell summer and hello fall! Speaking of cute little get-ups, you should see some of the steals I picked up for Sophie during this season's consignment sales around town. I got some Christmas smocks that are to die for and a pair of Chatti Patti pants from an overstock sale. Admittedly, I also picked up a little designer number for myself which will finally force me into some leggings, yes, the trend that started two years ago (sometimes I'm slow on the uptake). :) The best kept secret in Charlotte might just be the Wallace consignment sale, hosted in the basement of a sweet piece of real estate in South Park. It's not advertised, no website, pretty much word of mouth. They had some adorable clothes that Sophie will be wearing next winter, because I missed the part about all the clothes being 12mo and up. I'm also 85% sure I was shopping along side of the adopted mom of Carly from "Teen Mom."

Our furbaby Maddox is doing swimmingly well! She got her stitches out yesterday and the Dr said she looks great. For anyone who is equally obsessed with their animals as we are, click here to find out more about the TTA procedure Maddox went through. We still have six weeks of leash walks ONLY, starting at one block at a time, then four weeks of supervised off-leash-backyard-fun before being pronounced successfully recovered (12 total weeks of hell, I mean, fun).

So the dearth of blog activity in no way reflects a dearth of real life activity around the Barber household as of late. Sophie is now NINE months old and has some new stats to go with it: 18lb 4oz (48th percentile) and 28.5in tall (75th percentile). She has some new tricks, too. Her Papa very recently taught her to make a great Indian sound - using her palm over her mouth while making a sound. I don't know if I can describe it well, but you get it. She also replies to us with "Bleh!" We say one word like "Blue" she replies, "Bleh!" We say "Green," she says "Bleh!" Soph is clapping and crawling like a pro, and she loves to take two toys and hit them together AND you can find her drumming and pulling up on everything.

I'm still making all of her baby food with one exception... when I figure out to make Gerber Puffs, I will have hung the moon. New foods she is loving (all organic, of course!) - kale soup with roasted veggies, steel cut Irish oatmeal, blueberries, turkey, spinach and potatoes. She still isn't fond of avocado or peas but I'll keep trying.

Nine months... I love her more than words can say.
This is the back to school September version of her monthly pic!

Here is my peanut rocking in her great-grandmother Sophie's
rocking chair from when she was a baby!


Well, if mommy can't dance for the TopCats, at least she can dress
up her baby. (If you don't know that story, ask me some time.)



Playing in the water bowl (she wedged herself between it and the wall
so she wouldn't have to work so hard at standing and she could
focus on splashing). My girl!


A little afternoon reading. I guess clearing out the bottom shelf
just isn't enough anymore.
And, Sophie, Theresienstadt is a little mature for bedtime reading so put it back.

What's been going on?

A lot of this (pulling up, standing):

And a little of that (getting some fresh air at the park):

And today is this kid's birthday
(but don't ask him how old, because he isn't sure).
I love you, Bryan!!

It's been a busy few weeks at the Barber household. Shawn (Bryan's youngest brother) came for a weekend before starting his Junior year of high school, and Yaya also came in town for a visit. We hosted our Ears 'N Beers party (with you guessed it, yummy corn dishes, homemade compound butters, cornbread, corn hole, and beer). I started working with a personal trainer who is ah-mazing. I am serving for the 3rd year on the Charlotte Seminole Club board and we hosted our 2010 season kickoff event uptown. Sophie and I switched to a new music class closer to home and we LOVE it, and she made it through an entire church service in the nursery (no small feat for her or me)! I've been whipping up some new dishes in the kitchen with all of our Absolute Organics produce which introduced eggplant and kale to my refrigerator for the first time. Sophie had a birthday pool party last weekend that was so much fun - it's got me planning her December party already (ok, ok, I started planning that a month ago). And finally, Sophie is now the proud bearer of two bottom teeth. I had no idea how sharp they would be... it hurts when she bites... can I file those things down?!

Next Wednesday will be a rough day for us. Please send up some doggy prayers for little Miss Maddox. The good news is that she doesn't have osteoarthitis as we thought. The bad news is that she has been limping around since winter because of what was a partially torn - now fully torn - ACL. So... I've done my research, chosen a procedure and the doctor, and 12 weeks from next Wednesday hopefully we'll have our old Maddox back. Anyone who knows me know that this canine is my first born and she means the world to me. All I can do is hope that the doctor has a successful surgery and that we are able to provide her with the comfort and rehab that she needs to gain back her puppy-like bounce. I love you, sweet Maddox!

Trumped

I looooooove going into the nursery to get Sophie first thing in the morning and after her naps. She is all smiles and giggles... it simply is the best.

Sometimes I let Maddox (her four-legged big sister) come with me to get Sophie. Now that we've lowered the mattress one notch, Maddox and Sophie are eye level and Maddox will slip her tongue through the crib slats to slather Sophie with big kisses and Sophie just laughs and laughs.

This morning I went in to get her (sounds of "mamamama" over the monitor melting me), anticipating the smiles meant only for this mommy, and beaming a little myself. I was trumped! She wouldn't even look at me, but scanned all around the crib for Maddox! I picked her up and planted a big kiss on each of her sweet cheeks and she nearly had whiplash from turning her head towards the door hoping to see the pup.

OK! I'll let Maddox come get you from now on. Let's see how well she picks you up, changes your diaper, makes you a bottle... might I remind you she doesn't even have opposable thumbs?

It was the first, but hardly the last, that mommy was passed over for something far more fun and exciting :( But I have to admit, I love how patient and sweet Maddox is with Sophie. They are my baby girls and they have a mutual adoration for each other.

An old picture, but just an example how Maddy is always watching over Sophie!

The only thing harder than raising a child...

Is planning a vacation to Maui.

There is an over-abundance of information for such a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific... and it never fails: I sit down to do some research and find myself two hours later in a daze, not remembering one thing I've read. Wish us luck (we need it). The ONLY thing I've confirmed is that Sophie's two grandmothers will be able to share babysitting duty while we're gone!

One day soon, I hope to actually taste food again. Sophie doesn't just pass out in her car seat when we're out to eat anymore, she needs entertainment (or bottle, or food, or just wants to play with your face). So I either wind up inhaling what's in front of me simply for sustenance or I let the meal pass with hardly touching my food. I almost ruined dinner with friends last night by just being an anxious mess trying to take Sophie out past bedtime. Good thing they are good friends :) Once we got home I actually had to think about what I ordered (ate it so fast I didn't remember).

Happy Wife, Happy Life. I can literally hear Bryan's eyes rolling over this phrase. It's the kind of thing you see stitched on a kitchen towel (the stiff kind that doesn't absorb a THING) or etched in a little wooden plaque in a touristy gift shop... but this is one happy wife... and we have a great little life! Another wonderful weekend is drawing to a close; planted flowers, ate out, got a massage, dinner with friends, vacation planning and I sort of feel skinny today.

Some of the flowers I planted in baskets (collars are model's own)

Another day of World Cup games. My mommy brain doesn't stop just because Sophie is napping upstairs. "Watch out for the soft spot!" Every time I see the players go for a header, I cringe, thinking they still have soft spots in their skulls... which would only apply if we were watching baby soccer... and that probably wouldn't have 19 times the viewership of the Super Bowl.

Dad's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!

And to my man, aka Sophie's Dad:

You are one of the hardest working men I know. You spend all day working - selling and entertaining doctors and the like - only to come home and make lists of house and yard projects you want to tackle (we're renting now, remember :) ) and errands to run. You always listen intently as I talk your ear off about Sophie and all the ah-ma-zing things she did that day. You eat my cooking, complement my cleaning and tell me I'm beautiful. You recognize and appreciate how much work goes into being a SAHM - for that I'm infinitely thankful.

You've been the best Dad that Sophie could ask for from the first moment she was born. She has brought more joy to our lives than we could have possibly imagined, and I have you to thank. Happy Father's Day, Beb. I love you.

Some pics from our walk in the park in Elizabeth for Father's Day.

Daddy and his girl.

Daddy and his three chil'rens.

Daddy doing BBBB time (bath, bottle, books, bed routine).

The Characters

Our firstborn, faithful Boxers Cooper (bouncing boy) and Maddox (all girly and snuggly and stuff).

Miss Sophie Kate. Born December 17, 2009 (5mo in this pic).

Papa - Hubby - Bryan - Sophie's Dad