"I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month." ~Harlan Miller

Oh Christmas, how I love thee! What a wonderful holiday season it has been for our little family. It's been really fun introducing Sofia to various family members most recently.  We actually made it out to Uncle Kevin & Aunt Pam's annual Cookies with Santa Holiday Party, yay!  I was excited to get her all dolled up.

Sofia did really well on the drive up, considering she didn't sleep much during the day.  She was a little fussy at times during the party, but when it came to meeting Santa for the first time; she was all smiles.  It was adorable!

Lately I have been tickling her with my hair or the end of a scarf, and she just loves it.  So when Santa held her, she snuggled up right to his beard and started to smile.  She sure knows how to gather a crowd, hehe.

Christmas Eve ended up being crazy, as usual.  Both of our families always do our celebrations on the same night and it's always been challenging to split the time.  Boy oh boy, we left the house around 2pm and didn't get home until 10:30pm.  Baby girl did really well, considering. It did take her a few days to get back on a somewhat normal schedule though. It was really nice being able to spend Christmas morning with just the 3 of us.  Special shoutout to Michelle for hosting an awesome party with volleyball & to my parents for having such delicious homemade mexican food.  Aaaand for bringing us some Menudo. I love my mom's cookin!

We had a blast doing many photo opps with gifts and toys.

   

Yay for happy baby on Christmas morning!

I'm excited to create our own family traditions, like opening one gift on Christmas Eve: pj's! So much fun, what a splendid Christmas it was. Thank you to all our family & friends who spoiled our precious girl with gifts.

Here are the rest of her "festive" outfits of the week:

She is just too much fun to play dress up with! I'm also super excited to announce that she has passed another awesome milestone; rolling over!  It happened yesterday, right after an afternoon nap.  I heard her making noise and looked on the baby monitor and she was nowhere in sight!  Sure enough, I walk into her room and there she is lookin' at me all sheepish and happy (still half awake, I bet).  Just to make sure it wasn't a one time fluke, I put her on her belly and she rolled over again.  I grabbed my phone and recorded the 3rd one.

I emailed it to Rob & made him watch it while we were on the phone together. So awesome.  It's already making it easier when she wakes up in the morning.  Usually I can hear her stirring (on her belly) and I get up to flip her on her back to play for awhile.  This morning, however, I woke up to her cooing and she had rolled over on her back and was just playing around.  Who knows how long those shenanigans were going on! Haha. 

I *think* I've decided to move her to her crib full time in the next few weeks.  She takes all her daily naps in her crib, and after her 1 feeding around 2-3am, I put her in her crib until morning (unless she sleeps through the night) She sleeps better in her crib, so this mama needs to let go a little. Haha.

Here is her weekly pic:

I just can't believe how big she is getting.  I went & looked at her newborn pics/videos and was filled with so much emotion.  These past 2-3 months have been some of the best.  Challenging at times, but the reward is truly priceless.  I just love being a mommy to this precious little being.  She lights up my life and makes me want to be a better person.  Even if there is a temptation to get sucked into some of the drama that life tends to have, I try to remember that I want to be a good example to my daughter.  Easier said than done! Rule #1 Stay true to your word.  Even if others don't, sadly.

Postpartum Lex update: I've kinda fallen off the Insanity bandwagon, oops.  I could go through a few reasons why, but ultimately they are excuses.  I probably need to wake up early while she is still asleep for my workouts, at least for now.  Sofie hasn't been napping the same since Christmas Eve and there have been a few days I have had my workout clothes on for 5-6 hours waiting for my opportunity! c'est la vie. Just gotta stop talking about it and actually do it!  On a more positive note, I did awesome on my fit test.  Did about 8-10 more reps on each move, boom.  And I'm able to do a few real pushups now. Damn, I miss being in shape.  I lost 25 lbs once before, I can do it again. Yayyy!

Mmk, that's all for now.  Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and has a safe New Years Eve!

See ya next year! (ok, i know it's cheesy.)

Lex

"Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends."-1 Corinthians 13:7-8

Whoa December, slow down! CanNOT believe 2012 is almost over.  It doesn't seem too long ago that I was having a heart-to-heart with Rob about our struggle to become parents and the challenges we had already overcome, and still needed to.  I remember making my new year's resolution to leave it in God's hands and to just live my life. No more dwelling on the what if's of the past, or the what if's of the future. In order to do this, I decided to put together a mini ceremony for our 2 angel babies.  I printed the dates that will always be remembered, and included the following "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends."-1 Corinthians 13:7-8. Forever in our hearts."  I told Rob I wanted to fold these up and put them inside 2 white balloons and release them into the sky.  The Sunday we decided to have our little ceremony came and it was "one of those days" that I was feeling more depressed than usual.  I think I stayed in bed as long as I could, and Rob secretly went to Party City and got the balloons for us.  This simple act brought me to tears and I knew that he believed in my strength to face this day.  I didn't feel ready to let them go, it's like I didn't want it to seem like I was forgetting their existence. Now I know, that would never happen.  Those 2 experiences and 16 months of wondering and praying have changed who I am and made me appreciate life so much more. Not only this, but it has truly made our marriage stronger and brought us closer than I imagined was possible.  He is my rock.

Sure enough, we got pregnant 2nd week of January. Everything is eventual.

Anyway, didn't mean to bring up the hard stuff.  I was just thinking about where I was in my life a year ago.  In an open grassy field, with Rob, releasing these balloons. Shedding a few tears as it started to sprinkle outside, it was such a beautiful Sunday morning. 

I feel so grateful for the blessings I have in my life.  It's not perfect by any means, but it's finding something positive in each challenge posed in front of you, that helps you endure.

Mmk, time to update happy baby moments!  It was really cute, I was talking to Rob last night and he says, "Are you documenting the new stuff that Sofie is doing???"  This was in reference to this last week, which we feel like has been a week of growing up for her. I said, "Whaddaya think my blog is for?!? Duh!"  Hahaha.  I just love how involved Rob is with our little girl. His face lights up when he sees her after being at work all day, it melts my heart. le sigh

So yeah, about that.  Now that she is awake a lot more during the day, she just loves her "play time".  This used to just mean looking around and smiling, cooing, and reaching.  Even when we first used her gym, she would kinda swing her arms and kick her legs around.  As of this last week, she is grabbing the toys in front of her.  Kung fu grip! She tries to pull it towards her.  We also noticed she has been using her left hand more, which is interesting! Rob's excited because apparently this could be dollar signs for her future as a professional athlete. With her genes, it's bound to happen.   Haha! We would also love her just as well if she was a klutz with no athletic ability, c'mon meow.

  
She really is growing up before our eyes (i know i say this all the time, but for realsies).  There has been less colic lately, more coos and way more playing. No more newborn "eat.sleep.repeat."  I love spending time playing with her while she tries to do new things.  Schedule is getting pretty good, she has slept through the night twice this week. I'm still not ready for her to go to her crib yet, hehe.  Probably next week, we shall see. 

One new, but not-so-awesome trend is not liking car rides or sometimes, being in her car seat in general *YIKES!*  This really poses a challenge for me.  5-10 minutes into the car ride, she gets pretty pissed.  I'm planning on getting some shades for the windows, so I can let her see more and possibly play with a toy or 2. Definitely put a damper on our Saturday evening plans.We were pretty excited about attending Uncle Will & Aunt Patti's Christmas party and then swinging by Bea's Ugly Sweater Party. As we went to drop off cupcakes that I baked for Bea's party, we realized it was not in the cards.  Not to mention, it was raining pretty damn hard.  The minute we left the house, she got upset and screamed the whole way there. Man oh man, wasn't gonna try that for another 30-45 minutes.  Long story short, she didn't even go to sleep until midnight! Talk about throwing her off her groove.  Hopefully we can make it to Uncle Kevin & Aunt Pam's party this weekend.  We really wanna introduce Sofia to everyone!

Today we had lotsa fun with our favorite preggers, Paulina. It was an official mommy initiation because the minute I handed her over, she had the biggest blowout I've ever experienced! Whoa mama!  Poor baby was brewing that one up for awhile.  It went all the way up her back, just after I got her dressed in a cute, festive outfit too! Haha.  Take 2, and she spits up on Paulina.  *facepalm* It's what you have to look forward to. It was too funny.

One last new, and absolutely adorable thing she has been doing is twirling her hair.  It's hilarious! When she goes down for a nap, or is waking up and is in a "half awake/asleep" type of stage.  She puts her hand back there and starts to pull or twirl her hair.  So freaking cute (Yes, I'm obsessed with my child)

 
 Post-partum Lex update:  I ended up taking 4 days off of Insanity (boo!), my cyst is doing much better though.  It was super sore and I had bruising all around it and was still squeezing tissue out. Sorry if that's TMI.  Poor Rob was helping squeeze it out and almost got nailed in the face.  He definitely gagged, haha.  Anyway. I'm playing catch up and am almost done with my 2nd week. I'm curious to see how I do on my fit test. Go team, Go!  

Mmk, that's all for this week.  I'm excited to share another picture of our little munchkin.  Since I went crazy with the Christmas onesies, I'll be able to dress her up every day this week until Christmas. Haha :D.   

Hope everyone enjoys this wonderful Christmas with their loved ones.  I know that we will, no matter what :)

Xoxo

Lex 

2 months old!

Ok, seriously?!  It's so true when *they* say that time flies and your babies grow up so fast.  In just 2 months, I have gotten to see our little love transform already! It's so fun to see her personality develop and to watch her learn new things.  She is doing amazing!

I'm happy to share that a routine has finally started to set itself.  Ever since we let her sleep on her belly, I only hafta get up once to feed her. *score!* She will typically sleep a long stretch(anywhere from 5-7 hours) get a good feeding and sometimes go right back to sleep for another 3-ish hours.  Other times, she plays for about 30 minutes and I hafta rock/bounce/pat-that-booty back to sleep.  Kinda sucks when I've been in a deep sleep myself, but I would rather do that than get up every 2-3 hours. There have been a handful of times she has slept through the entire night, so awesome.

When she wakes up in the morning, she is at her Sunday's best.  Very active, all smiles, and loves to coo.  I'm loving all the coos and enjoy having random conversations with her. She is usually up for about an hour, and likes to take 40 minute-1 hour nap right after.  This has been our every morning for the last 2 weeks, spot on.  During the day and evening can vary.  Some days she will only take 40 min naps at a time, other days she will take a 2-3 hour nap.  Keeps it interesting for me! Hehe.  As long as she sleeps like a champ at night, she can do what she wants in the day.

The dreaded 2 month appointment was this week. One word: vaccinations.  I know she has gotten some already, but that was at the hospital and this time she was getting 4 (1 was oral, thankfully).  I decided to get them all done versus spacing them out.  I know there is a lotta research behind this controversial topic, but my mommy instinct and my desire to not put her through another day of *possible* fever and fussiness took over.  She did so great! By the time the first needle was coming out, the confused expression turned into a scream.  The lady did it so quick, thankfully.  After I held baby Sofie close and whispered to her it was ok, she calmed down and fell asleep.  Poor babe.  She has been sleeping a lot more the last 2 days, but otherwise happy.  And no fever, Thank you God.  I still gave her extra cuddles, even though she was more interested in laying in her crib and watching her mobile. Haha.  Mama probably needed the cuddles more!

Here is her 2 month update:

And a few other pics from our little photo shoot.

This puts it into perspective for me, a side by side:

She has officially outgrown all her newborn clothing items. Even though she has gained a whole pound, she looks so much thinner, but definitely longer.  She'll always be my lil chunky monkey.

Of course I gotta include the weekly pic too!

Here are some cute faces she likes to make (usually first thing in the morning, hehe). I've noticed these last few weeks she has discovered the use of her eyebrows and it's hilarious.

Now that I have some sort of sanity in my life AKA sleep, I'm back to doing some artsy fartsy crafts, and made this super cute and easy headband holder.  Monica sent me the idea from Pinterest (of course). Made from an oatmeal bin, scrapbook paper, and my handy hot glue gun.

Aaaaaand, my other awesome friend, Ashleigh, inspired my holiday craft. Also using my handy hot glue gun, scrapbook paper and jute.

Yay for craft time!  Now if only I could get my dang office organized....haha.  That room has been a hot mess since we moved in, pretty much.  Oh wells!

Everyone always asks me "How has your dog reacted/dealt with a new baby?"  I'm proud to say that she has done awesome.  She was very curious at first, and now is protective of Sofia.  It's adorable, really.

You can also see that Sofia loves to play in her deluxe play gym.   Yay!  She gets so excited and interested in all the bright colors and sounds.  She coos a lot more and sometimes does this giddy, high-pitched shriek. Haha! So fun to see her actually do something besides eat.sleep.repeat ;)

Here she is completely mesmerized by her mobile that we finally got around to purchasing and installing:

Today my mom watched baby girl while I ran a few errands and enjoyed my adjustment/massage.  Mommy time is essential! Bre also came to hang out and brought little Rico as a surprise.  He misses his mama bear and made himself right at home, as usual.

I am so, so thankful my parents took him under their wing so I can still see him.  He is such a sweet boy!

Tidbit about post-partum Lex:  I've started Insanity and it is kicking my booty!  I can already feel the energy boost and my muscles coming back.  I took it easy the first week, and am in the middle of my 2nd week.  Had to take a few days off due to a stupid medical issue.  Long story short: I have a cyst in the middle of my chest (between the girls) and it got inflamed/infected and I had to get it cut open to drain. Boo!  Gonna test the waters tomorrow and make up for those 2 days.  Note to self: Need to get my eating habits right.  My candy bowl is almost gone and I hardly have any visitors, haha.  Oops!  Damn sweet tooth, :D

Welp, that's it for this addition. Really, really gonna try and update again soon.  Until then, here is a pic from this morning. I kiiiinda forgot to turn off the flash, bahaha!

Her hair has seriously grown!  It's pretty fabulous, if I do say so myself. Hehe

Xoxo

Lex

P.S.

I want to take a moment to send prayers of strength to the community of Newtown, CT.  What a senseless and horrific tragedy!  It's hard to fathom someone going to an elementary school to murder innocent children and school staff.  What a sick and deranged individual!  As a new parent, I can't even imagine the pain the parents of the 20 dead children are dealing with.  No parent should witness their own child pass before them. So sad :(

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Happy *belated* Thanksgiving to you all! I'm only a week-ish late, c'mon meow.  I've been meaning to update for over a week, but can't seem to find the time.  Still trying to get our Christmas tree up and decorated, ha!  Anyway, Thanksgiving was at our house this year.  It was super convenient to have Sofia in her own element, even if it was "pass the baby around", much like hot potato, hehe.  We did a potluck and had so much food and goodies; it was amazing.  So glad we got to spend it with such great people.  I just love this time of the year, and want to make a better effort of being more thankful in other months besides November.  We have had such a blessed year, and I am so grateful!  Here are a few pics of out little butterball on Turkey Day:

I just love the sweet look she is giving daddy.  He seems to be the one that can invoke such great expressions from her.  She has been smiling a lot more these last few weeks, and making adorable cooing noises.  It sounds like she is saying "Goo". Man, I can't believe she is 7 weeks old. SO nuts!

The night before thanksgiving was hellish for the both of us, up almost every hour and hardly any sleep.  I had been laying her down on her tummy during her daytime naps for at least 3 weeks now and noticed she sleeps more soundly.  Her neck is really strong and she has amazing head movement.  Going against the grain (what is the grain these days anyway?!), we decided to let her sleep on her belly at night time.  Of course, I watched her like a hawk those first few hours.  Waking up at every little sound.  She slept 6 hours and 15 minutes!  Compared to sleeping an average 2-3 hours at a time, it was huge!  Next night: 6 hours and 45 minutes.  Tuesday night, she slept through the night for the first time (8 and 1/2 hours) from 10pm-6:30am. Hallelujah!  Mommy & Daddy instincts rule.

It will be nice to fall into a routine now.  I'm still trying to gauge what type of daily naps she will have. I know it's not gonna happen overnight, but it is getting easier over all.  I just gotta remember to take care of mommy too!  I'm really looking forward to exercising again.  I've already noticed I have more energy and my back doesn't hurt as bad.  I swear, the damn anesthesiologist stabbed me one too many times because I've noticed a dull ache in my back.  No bueno.  I hope it goes away over time :/

Postpartum recovery is going much better.  I don't really notice my incision as often, but was told it can take up to a year to fully heal. Yikes! This mama wants to be beach body ready sooner than that ;)  Yes, I know.  It took 9 months to put on, so don't rush it.  I'm not trying to have a 6 pack by next week; it's more about feeling good.  I feel better when I eat healthier and work out on a regular basis.  I'm pumped! I think Rob thought I was a little crazy when I was excited to do Insanity with him.  It feels good to have a good sweat sesh :D Maybe, just maybe I will document getting back into shape on this blog too.  So far, I've lost about 30 lbs just from breastfeeding. It really did melt off in the first few weeks. Now I *only* hafta lose 25 more, which has been done before. I'm more focused on how my clothes fit, so we shall see.

Mmk, back to baby.  With all the hustle and bustle, I asked Bre to do an impromptu Holiday Pic photoshoot. Here are a few of my faves:

I just love that last one, it was in between wardrobe changes and she was hammin' it up.  She is just starting to show more and more personality as each day passes and i absolutely love it!

 

Le sigh, I love our little monkey. Anyway, there's not much else to report until her 2 month well checkup in about a week. I leave you all with one more pic.  It's her faux hawk look:

 

Until next time, 

La la lex!

 

One month old!

Wowie Maui, I can't believe it has already been one whole month since our little love made her debut.  You know what they say, time flies when you're having fun. It has truly been amazing watching her grow up right before our eyes. Though motherhood has been rather exhausting so far, it is the best job in the world.  I'm forever thankful that Rob is providing for us, so that I can be home with her.

It has been a learning experience.  Eat. Sleep. Repeat.  I knew Copeland was trying to prepare me for something! I always thought my type A personality would get the best of me, and I would try and plan perfectly how to take care of this baby. Get her on a clear routine of sleeping and eating at the same time. But, now that I'm on the nitty gritty, it's refreshing to just relax and go with the flow. Within reason, of course.  Just when I think I've got it down, little Sofie throws me a curve ball.  For example: on friday night she fed hourly from 6pm until 2pm Saturday.  Literally.  Nothing else would really soothe her.  Oh em gee, I was exhausted.  Not the best timing, since my BFF from out of state, Monica, and her son were visiting.  Oy vey.  Talk about a major growth spurt. It was worth it though, because she has been going longer in between feedings.

Here is a recap of what I've learned as a new mom in the 1st month of:
-It's true when the proverbial *they* say to sleep when the baby sleeps.  Seriously.  Even if it's only a 30 minute nap.
-We are creatures of habit, listen to your baby and look for cues of what works for him/her.  Every baby is different. Sounds simple enough, right?
-Breastfeeding is amazing, once you get the gist of it.  Don't give up, both you & baby are learning together and it doesn't happen overnight.
-A bottle of pumped milk is more valuable to you when your hubby offers to take a feeding shift.  I thought enjoying a margarita would be more fun. Haha, ok so I'm totally joking.  But really, if hubby offers to take a feeding or entire night: pump those boobies and get some sleep!
-On the same note, accept help when offered.  This isn't the time to be accommodating to guests or polite.  Yes, you can wash my dishes. Of course I would love for you to bring us dinner. Don't forget your *Please & Thank You's*

This came across one of my daily bits of info on my Baby Center App:

So true! I seriously don't know how my body can function after 5 weeks of intermittent sleep, but I'm thankful that it can. Photo bomb time!

Sofia turned 3 weeks old exactly on Halloween.  Here are a few awesome pics:

 It worked perfectly when we found out Karlie dressed up as Cinderella.  Too cute!

 Look at our little Snow White.  A special thanks to our cousins Megan & Emma for sending such an adorable costume!

I had a great weekend with Monica and Jace visiting, and I can't wait til they move back to AZ.  Here is a pic of Auntie Mo and Sofia.

And of course silly Jace, being a total boy and getting into everything. He managed to fit inside Rico's tiny kennel! Haha

 Jace watching his mommy hold baby Sof and unsure of how to react, hehe. Oh, and Mr. Rico.

 Trying to soothe Sofia, it was a rough weekend for the children. Ha!

 Jace & Uncle Rob playing in Sofia's room.

Sofia turned 1 month old on Saturday and we took our first of many "progression" pictures.  Very similar to my belly shots. Look how cute our little monkey is!

 Here is a collage of her many faces.  I am a typical obsessed mom and take a gazillion pics and think that every single one is the cutest. Gosh, I just love her!

The board reads she weighs 11 lbs, because we weighed her at home (rob weighed himself and then held her and weighed himself again.  we is smart)
Per the pediatrician, here are the stats:
*10 lbs 12 oz and is in the 87th percentile
*23 inches long and is in the 94th percentile (whoa!)
*Head circumference is in 80th percentile (didn't catch the #)

I had a feeling she had a major growth spurt, lengthwise.  She has officially grown out of newborn onesies already.  *tear* The 0-3 or 3 month onesies fit perfectly in length, still a little baggy in the chest area. The tech had to come in to re-measure her to make sure she did it correctly. Looks like she may have inherited the Hegarty torso & legs.  She will probably be in the Olympics too, boom!

A quick look of progression.  Top left to right: Day of birth, 1 week old, 2 weeks old.  Bottom left to right: 3 weeks old, 4 weeks old.

 Last picture to share today: Daddy & Daughter time is super special for Rob after a hard day's work.  I love seeing his face light up when he gets to love on his little princess.  It melts my heart.

One significant thing I've noticed is that she is starting to smile a lot more, it's adorable.  I can't wait to see what she does next.

On another note, we have had a crazzzzyyyy week. On tuesday night, the dogs were running around, as usual, and Riley accidentally stepped on Rico.  This time, he got him good (as there have been many close calls.)  We thought it was his left leg, since he was dragging it more.  Turns out it was his spine, and *Thank God* it isn't fractured.  I'm so thankful to Caring Hearts Clinic for always being so honest with us and with their services.  He was discharged last night with steroids, and this will hopefully help him heal quicker.  I can already see a difference in him today, he is walking a little better.  Tile proves to be a little more challenging, poor little dude.  Once he is healed up, my parents have agreed to take him.  I'm gonna miss seeing his big, bug eyes and radar-like ears every day, but am so happy I can visit him when I want.  These 2 dogs love each other, but it's too hard for them to co-exist.  Especially with a newborn.  He will have a lot more fun with Sushi (my parent's havanese mix), and can finally play with someone his own size.

I guess I lied when I said no more pics.  I've been snuggling him more, hoping mama bear's love will help heal him quicker.  He loves to be on my belly, and it was funny to watch him try to get comfy on a flatter surface when he is used to my big ol preggers belly.

Ok, so I realized I should probably update more often since I just love posting pictures. I told you, I'm obsessed.

Before I sign off, I just wanted to express how unbelievably happy I am to hear that one of my childhood friends is expecting her first baby.  It has been a challenging journey for her, and I have been praying to hear such wonderful news.  I continue to pray for a healthy pregnancy for her little miracle.  Go Team Baby W!

Baby girl's morning nap will be ending soon, so I better go eat some food and get some shtuff done around the house.

Until next time,

Lex