Sophia's First Christmas

Let me begin by saying that I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! As you know, this was Sophia's first Christmas. I know this is supposed to be a big deal, and maybe this wins me a MOTY award, but Anthony and I didn't make too much out of it. In fact, we didn't even buy Sophia a gift. We thought about it, but I mean, she's 4 months old. She doesn't know what Christmas is -- heck, she doesn't even know she's getting a gift! So we decided to skip the presents for her this year. In the end, it really didn't matter because her Nana, Nannie & Papa, and Aunt Meredith & Uncle Cory spoiled her rotten! All in all, I'd say that Sophia had a great 1st Christmas! I have to post the pictures of her in her adorable "My 1st Christmas" sleep 'n play and matching robe that my friend bought her last Christmas when I first announced that I was pregnant! Meredith took them on her camera, so I have to wait for her to email them to me.

Here's a picture of our mantel this year. I wasn't going to buy any stockings until after Christmas, but Pottery Barn had their stockings on sale during Cyber Monday with free embroidery and free shipping, so I went ahead and bought them.

Christmas also brought another first for Sophia -- her first taste of green beans!! Simply said, she LOVED them! She'd take a bite and then make this "Mmmmm, mmmmm" noise that was so incredibly adorable! The other night, Meredith and Cory were over at the house and we showed them. Cory took a video with his phone, so if I can get that, I'll post it. At Sophia's 4 month well visit, the pediatrician told me that we need to try and get Sophia to eat 6 ounces of rice cereal a day by the time she's 5 1/2 or 6 months. Sophia is now 4 1/2 months old and is already eating the 6 ounces of rice cereal mixed with a container of baby food every day! She's definitely Anthony and my child!! She's an eater!! Here's a picture of her after her introduction to green beans...

And the last picture I'll share in this post:

This is from this past Saturday (the 26th). We took a trip out to Gilbert to Aunt Brandi and Uncle Chad's house to watch Pitt beat NC State in the Meineke Car Care Bowl! It was around 50 degrees out, so Sophia had to bundle up. I think I'm going to put a hat on her now every time we go out. I know I'm biased, but how cute is my daughter?!?!

So my last bit of chatter for tonight deals with my adventure tomorrow. Tomorrow (December 29th) is Anthony's 32nd birthday. His birthday request was simple: to go to Charleston to have dinner with friends at McCrady's (www.mccradysrestaurant.com) and to stay the night. That's right. Stay. The. Night. Anthony's parents are coming over to our house to spend the night and watch Sophia. I know Sophia will be fine, but this is the first time I'm leaving her for the night. McCrady's is an incredible restaurant and we're doing a multi-course chef's tasting with wine pairings, so I know it's going to be a wondeful gastronomic adventure, but have I mentioned that I'm leaving my baby for the night? Keep me in your thoughts. Until next time...

'Tis the Season

I'd like to begin this post by wishing you all a very happy holiday season! 2009 was such a wonderful year for the Cimino family! I truly can't wait to see what 2010 has in store for us! At this point, I don't think it can get much better! I've come a long, long way these past 4 months. I've blossomed from a terrified and insecure brand new mom to a confident yet clueless Mama! I still feel like I have no clue what I'm doing, but when I look at Sophia and see how happy and healthy she is, and when I look at Anthony and see the pride and love in his eyes, I know I'm doing something right! Life. Is. Good.

Follow Up

As promised, here are the pictures corresponding to my previous post:

She can finally play in her Johnny Jump Up! She doesn't quite know what to do yet -- she sort of just hangs out and drools, but last night she started moving her feet, so I think she's figuring it out!

First attempt at rice cereal.

The second attempt went much better! Now she loves it and is already eating 2 tablespoons of it a day. The pediatrician wants her eating 6 tablespoons a day by the time she's 6 months old. I don't think that will be a problem!!

First attempt at rolling over. This is what I found last Sunday morning when I came back into Sophia's room after grabbing a cup of coffee!

And THIS is what happened last night while she was laying on the dining room table after her bath! She's progressed so much just in 3 short days! She even started pushing up with her arms and moving her legs. I think crawling is going to come early!!!

She's starting to giggle!!!

Eventful Weekend

Like the title of this posts implies, we had a lot going on this weekend! Friday was Sophia's 4 month well visit. She's weighing in at 15.5 pounds (97th percentile) and is measuring almost 27 inches (91st percentile)! The doctor told me to start giving her rice cereal now. He wants her eating about 6 tablespoons a day w/in the next two months. The first attempt at cereal eating was Friday night and did not go too well (I'll post pictures later) but she seemed to like it a little more by Sunday evening. Saturday night, Sophia found her feet! Anthony was getting her ready for her bath and called me in to her room to show me. There she was, laying on her changing table with her left foot in her left hand and a huge smile on her face! If reaching that milestone wasn't enough to make my weekend, what happened Sunday morning definitely was! As usual, I woke Sophia up around 8:30, changed her, gave her a bottle and then put her down on her activity mat while I fixed myself some coffee. When I came back to her room, I found her laying on her tummy looking up at me with a huge smile! That's right -- Sophia rolled over!! I was so excited! Of course, I had to go get the camera (again, will post pictures later). What a weekend!!!! Until next time...

Turkey time!

Since this was Sophia's first Thanksgiving, we thought we should make it a special one -- and in her daddy's eyes, that meant dressing her up as a turkey! I have to admit, she was pretty freaking cute, but I know, one day, she's going to get us back for this! The day started off great. She woke up nice and smiley as usual around 8:15. We played for 2 hours and then she went down for her morning nap. She woke up around 12:30 from her nap and it was time to go to Nanny and Papa's house for Thanksgiving dinner. I put her in her turkey outfit but had to change her b/c the wings on the suit wouldn't bend and I couldn't get her in her car seat. When we got to Anthony's parents' house, I put the costume on her. She loved it! She was just giggling and smiling! She KNEW she was the most adorable turkey ever! That's when the fun stopped though. When we got inside, everyone rushed her because she was just so cute. It was too much for her and The Dragon came out. She was fussy the rest of the day and wanted Mama to carry her. This is the only picture I've got of her in her turkey costume. She wore it for a whole 5 minutes. Hahaha! You know what that means? Time to play dress up! Hahahaha! Stay tuned for more pictures!! Until next time....