Where has the time gone? Seriously...

Well, our sweet little Sophie Sugai is one!!  I know lots of people say, "Where has the time gone?"  but really where has it gone?  Yesterday at 6pm, I had an emotional moment.  It was the first time that I sat down to relax and realized that a year ago at that time we had been parents of two kids for 4.5 hours.  I guess in my old age, I've become way more sentimental--I used to make fun of my mom for being emotional like I was yesterday.  I guess what goes around, comes around.  

I know many people say, "I don't even remember what life was like before I had (fill in the blank)"  but again it seems like such a distant memory of it being just Chris and me and then just Chris, Josiah and me.  Sophie fits so well into our family, and I can't imagine not having her as a part of our family.  Yes, it is true that she came a little sooner than we were planning, but God knew EXACTLY what He was doing when He sent Sophie our way!!  We are so thankful that He has called us to be her Mommy and Daddy--it is definitely a privilege and honor.

Some things I love about our sweet Sophie are:

*Her go get 'em attitude.  If she wants something, she is determined to get it.
*Her sweet little belly laugh--Chris says I'm the only one who gets her to laugh like that, but they share their own special laugh.
*Her adoring attitude for Josiah--she really does love her brother and wants to be like him so badly.
*Her fearlessness--she is not afraid to try new things--even though Mommy and Daddy thinks she is too little, but she sees Josiah doing it and wants to go along.
*Her vocal opinion--there are often times when I feel like she is cussing me out in baby talk because she isn't happen with me--I guess we have lots of work to do to train her that she can share her opinion, but it needs to be in a nice way.  OK, so maybe that is wishful thinking that we will have grown-up conversations when she is a teenager, but hey, it doesn't hurt to put in a little request now! 

Those are just a few things that we adore about her.  We look forward to seeing how God is going to continue to grow her into the young lady He desires her to be.  Like, I said before, we are so thankful that He chose us to be her parents.  We pray every night for God to give us wisdom to know how to raise her, so we ask that you will pray the same for us.  Thank you for all the prayers that have been lifted up on our behalf and that will be lifted up in the future.  

My MIL picked this out for Sophie's 1st birthday party...ADORABLE!

LOVE that smile!

No Bloodwork

Well, we took you back to the doctor after they gave us 2 weeks to increase your weight.  We couldn't believe that when they weighed you, you had gained 9oz!!!  We are so very proud of you for  working extra had with eating and transitioning to formula.  You weren't very excited at first to take a sippy cup with formula, but you hung in there and started drinking it.  Mommy and Daddy are so relieved that you didn't have to have any blood work done.  So keep up the good job of eating...we are very proud of you!

10 months

Well, our sweet little Sophie is 10 months old.  WOW!  Time sure does fly when you are having fun.  Sophie is really getting around now with her crawling and is pulling herself up more and more on her knees.  Chris and I try to get her to walk back and forth between the two of us, but she spends most of her time on her tip toes.  One of our youth is a dancer and says she is going to be a ballerina one day.   She is starting to pick up some sign language.  She pretty much has "more" down.  Josiah was the one who taught her.  Chris and I had been working and working with her, and she wouldn't do it.  We were sitting at the dinner table the other night, and Josiah says, "Sophie, more (signing),"  And she puts her hands together and signs "more."  Today was her first day of signing "milk" as I was feeding her.  She did it quite a few times, so I think she is putting it together. She is doing a great job with eating table food.  She had a weight check on Monday and has to go back in 2 weeks because she dropped 4 oz.  I feel like I've been through this before--oooh, I have with Josiah.  Her personality is starting to really blossom.  She is really a smiley, happy baby.  When we are on the floor, she will crawl as fast as she can towards us and then climbs all over us the whole time screeching.  She has cut two more teeth, so now she has a total of six teeth.  She has gotten her first cold.  Josiah got it first, passed it on to Sophie and now I have it.  Sophie is by the far the one it hit the hardest.  She has been so pitiful, but I think she has finally turned the corner.  Well, I guess that is all for Sophie's 10 month birthday.  I don't even remember what life without her looks like.  We are so thankful that she is a part of our life.  We love you, Little Girl!

Not Just Average

Sophie had her 6 month check-up yesterday.  She weighed 15 lbs. 6 oz. (50%) and was 25 3/4 inches long (50%).  The doctor said that she was average, but she's not just average to us!  She continues to bring so much joy to our family.  It seems so long ago that we went day after day with her screaming.  It's a good thing that God makes those times seem so far away or else people might not keep having children!   She is right on track with developing.  She is rolling over, grabs for toys, tracks with her eyes and is scooting on her belly.  She can sit up for a little bit, but could do it longer if she didn't kick her feet as much as she does!    She started rice cereal on July 12th and has been doing an awesome job with eating it--we weren't too surprised since she is a little more serious about her eating than her  brother ever was.  We were going to start her on oatmeal, but decided not to since she got 5 shots yesterday.  We didn't want to have any confusion of new food or shot if she has some kind of reaction.  She did start drinking from a sippy cup yesterday and knew exactly what to do with it.  She was holding it and put it right up to her mouth.   She continues to be an excellent sleeper by sleeping anywhere from 8 to 10 hours at night!!!  Mommy and Daddy still haven't learned to go to bed early.  Maybe by the next child, we will learn! 

This Sunday we are having Sophie baptized.  Three of the grandparents are coming for her special day.  We still aren't sure if Chris will be participating in any of it, but I think it would be a special thing if he was able to.  I did take some pictures of her in her baptism dress, so feel free to look at them. 

As I get ready to close, I just need to share with our sweet girl how honored we are to have been chosen to be her parents.  You are the most precious unexpected blessing we have received!  We love you, Sophie Su!

She's Here!

Well, Sophie Sugai has finally arrived!  She entered the world Friday, January 15, 2010 at 1:38pm.  She weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz and was 20 3/4 inches long.  Sophie has a very proud auntie to share her birthday with.  Her Auntie Sue kept requesting that she share her birthday with her, so I guess she got her wish.  I told Sue yesterday that we gave her a lifetime of birthday presents because the cost of having Sophie was the most expensive gift we could give her. 

I was very fortunate to only be in real labor for 4 hours.  I started pushing at 1:33pm and had her out by 1:38pm--that is only 5 minutes!  A couple of funny moments--not to me of course--were when I said, "I'm crazy for wanting to do this without drugs!"I don't want to have hemorrhoids again!"  Chris said the doctor and nursers thought my comments were pretty fun.  Oh, the things you say when giving birth!

Sophie, Daddy and I are doing well.  Josiah hasn't officially met Sophie yet because he isn't allowed to come to the hospital because of the flu season visitation restrictions.  He did get to see her on Skype and was interested like any other 18 1/2 month old. He came to see her and was off playing again!  I sure do miss him and look forward to having our family together tomorrow.  Thanks for all the prayers.  We are truly blessed to have God entrust Josiah and Sophie to our care.  Please continue to pray for a smooth transition from one child to two children. 

Here are some pictures of our day welcoming our little girl into the world:

The start of labor...4 hours later and 5 minutes of pushing...

...Sophie Sugai is here

1:38pm--7 lbs 3 oz--20 3/4 in

Daddy taking a nap with his little girl

She melts my heart already

 

Shock

Well, I think I have finally picked myself up off the floor---No, I think I’m still there.  Yesterday was Josiah’s 11 month birthday and what a present he got!  After being quite a few days late, I decided to share with Chris that I was having some concerns.  Chris said that he would go pick up a pregnancy test, so I would have a peace of mind that I wasn’t pregnant.  We have been so intentional about not having a second child yet, so it was a test to just show that I wasn’t pregnant and I was skipping my period for the month.  I know my body is still a little out of whack from having Josiah.  Well, I took the first test and it came back ‘positive’ in my eyes and an ‘invalid result’ in Chris’ eyes---one of the lines was a little faint.  So off to the store he went again to pick up some more pregnancy tests—this time he got a three pack instead of single one.  I went and took another test and couldn’t believe the results—it was a clear ‘positive.’  I stayed in shock most of the evening and didn’t sleep most of the night.  This morning I got up and took one more test hoping that the other two were wrong, but it came back ‘positive’ again. 

All I can say is God sure does have a sense of humor.  Chris and I both agreed that we wouldn’t be having Baby G #2 until he had a full time position at a church.  I guess what we wanted really didn’t matter.  I am definitely scared and anxious.  I’ve always wanted to be a mom and have quite a few children.  I just wasn’t expecting it this soon.  We’re still trying to figure Josiah out.  I know that God has a plan and doesn’t give us more than we can bear---I was just hoping we would have a little say in the matter.  I know after the shock wears off, I will be just as excited about this baby as I was about Josiah.  I guess yesterday when I wrote about continuing to pray for us, God knew I needed to write that request. 

I will be posting this entry after we go to the doctor to confirm that the HPTs are accurate.  We are going to try to make an appointment with Dr. Bob, while we are in NC in June.  He gave us the test for Josiah, so we couldn’t think of a better person to do it again. 

Well, that is all for now.  I have a feeling that I will be clinging to Jeremiah 29:11-13a over the next few days.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.  You will seek me and find me.”