Santa Claus!

Keif and I were at the mall for a quickie trip on Sunday late afternoon. As I was pushing her past the Santa Claus display, I realized NO ONE was in line for Santa. He had two girls on his lap and the "elves" were standing around, looking extremely bored. I called up CJ and asked if I should plop our girl in his lap and see what happens?

I did, and it was success! Santa (who has a real beard, by the way), tickled our girl and she laughed and laughed, after intently checking him out first. The staff told me I had made a good decision, as the wait has been as long as 2 hours in the past. Two HOURS? That is insane. Lucky for us, K smiled so happily. However, not lucky for the pocket book, they charged an arm and a leg for a few measly pictures. But we HAD to have our angel girl's first memento taken at Christmas. And yes, this is a picture of a picture (we don't own a scanner, *gasp*).

Bravo......

......to Mel, author of Stirrup Queens and Sperm Palace Jesters.........
........Bravo, for the Nov. 29th blog on Empathy...............well said!

Belated Thanksgiving Pictures

Our little turkey's first Thanksgiving Day - complete with homage to the Pilgrims (no, its not a chef hat, Wieb!)

The Soup family Thanksgiving picture trying to hold her own bottle
Mama enjoys trying out the Maya wrap (thanks, Jen! Again!)

Uncle & Abbers
Auntie Wanda reads one of our fave stories

Before my turkey dinner of turkey, beans, mashed 'taters, fruit, bread.....
... and after, unwinding with a little practice on our sippy cup (*a not very succesful try, but we're working on it*)
Laughing her cute little butt off at Abby

*Click HERE for the dropshot video clip version*

Hoping you were as lucky as we were to spend time with those you love!

Good night, sweet baby.

Good night, sweet baby, good night.

Another day has flown by, and once again, mommy's heart aches that I wasn't able to see you for more than a few hours. I count the minutes until the weekend. Minutes and hours until we can play, and nap, and laugh together, and mama can read you endless books, and make silly sounds,and we can giggle at the puppies and their snicky licks.

Bath night tonight. You are learning how to splash loudly, your little chubkin arms flailing about, hoping to make contact with the water, so that it gives you the loud splash effect. You also are curious about the soap bubbles that float on the top of the water. With intense concentration, you use your emerging pincer grasp to try and pick the bubbles up, only to look frustrated that they disappear as soon as you grab hold. You are getting better about letting us rinse your hair; no more scared baby sounds. Just a quick shriek as we rinse the head, then it's back to reading about cats and dogs canoeing down the river. Sometimes the book makes contact with your mouth. I clean the last of your crumbs off your cheek, the last off your little body - the body that made mama laugh tonight when you appeared to start to groove a little at the first strains of your baby Mozart. You made mama's heart leap with pride.

Toweled off and silly baby scoots her naked bum to the top of the crib. You snuggle your lovie on your face, cuddles feel good. You cry at night when you are tired; you want your PJ's on NOW, and you want your bottle NOW. No lotion for you; forget it, daddy. I don't care about dry skin and dry patches. I want to eat and sleep NOW. Sleep sack is zipped. You're picked up, and led to your rocker, lights out.

You furiously suck your bottle, as though you haven't eaten all day and we all know that isn't true- as I've read the report that says you had some bagel for breakfast (!) your whole jar of veggie and turkey dinner for lunch plus some lasagna, and a variety of fruits, bread, and puffs for dinner. The dark envelopes us, as I slowly rock the chair, enjoying the rhythm myself, watching Sassy Sage pace in and out of the room, listening to the white noise CD, dimly lit by one nightlight. I hear daddy washing bottles. The TV is muffled downstairs. I rest my cheek upon the top of your clean head, savoring the warmth and smell, and hear your snuffled nose, as it starts to slow down in breath. You stop your picking and exploring at my arm with your fingers.

Good night, sweet baby, good night. You are stretched so long in your PJ's and sleep sack: head on my shoulder, feet almost to my knee. Where is my tiny girl I gave birth to? The one who got stuck coming out? You are growing too fast, too soon, too quick for my liking. Not long ago you could barely sit up without comically toppling over with a laugh. Now, you are sitting up alone in your bath, giggling as we sit you up naked as a jay bird in your crib.

I feel your body start to go limp; you are entering the sleep stage and the suckling on the bottle stops. I savor the last few minutes before I must go and feed myself, for I am so hungry, but you come first. Tonight, again, you make a small, soft humming noise, humming in contentment as your sleep is good. Dream sweetly, my love. Hum away, and dance with the angels in your dreams. Hum. Hum. Hum. I love you. Good night.

Wordless Wednesday: Monkey Butt Gets a new monkey hat

Thank you, Nana & Bumpa!

New Videos

Just a reminder, especially to you, Nana Marge - I always have new video clips on Dropshots - I have the link to it on the Right Side

---------------------------------------------------->
Over there.

I added the latest videos last night- from last Wednesday thru yesterday. See Keifer "reading" with Daddy, laughing like a goon with her cousins, and playing her drum with Nana Marge.

Enjoy. CLICK HERE.

Hospice

My Grandma was transferred to the hospice this evening.
CJ, Keif, and myself said our goodbyes to her yesterday. It was one of the saddest things I've had to do; I asked my Grandma to be our angel, and to whisper in God's ear for another baby for us. She seemed surprised at that request, but said she would. She knows how much I love her, and I will miss her terribly. Keifer made some of her last few days a bit more brighter, as she visibly lit up and smiled and laughed when Keifer was there with her. We took some pictures; not to be grotesque (as she isn't looking very good), but to remember her for always, and to be able to show Keifer that she was there for her last days.
My heart hurts very much.
Please keep her in your prayers; that she may go without a struggle and be at peace, in God's hands. Our family is mourning her already. My poor Papa is heartbroken, as you can imagine.

Happy 4th Anniversary to CJ and me!

Happy 4th wedding Anniversary to me and CJ.

Four years ago today we were joined together as "husband and wife", and I started my life as "Soupy" girl.

Here is an excellent recap of our wedding day - which I wrote last year on our anniversary.

Things are quite emotional for us right now with my Grandma....she is still in ICU. I will write more later about our time up there, but for now, CJ and I are enjoying our night together. We had a yummy dinner out, while Nana Marge and Papa babysat for us.

Four years went by in the blink of an eye. Here's to many more good years ahead of us.

A last trip to say Goodbye

CJ and I are packing up tonight- my Grandma Gina is not doing well. We got the call from my mom tonight that she is in ICU and on oxygen only at this point; we are leaving in the AM straight away when Keifer gets up and we'll go to say our goodbyes.

Please keep our family in your prayers this holiday weekend. Thanksgiving is turning into a sad holiday memory for us: 3 years ago, we spent Thanksgiving day in the hospice, saying goodbye to my Uncle Don as he succumbed to his cancer. This year, it appears we'll be saying goodbye to my wonderful Grandma.

She asked about Keifer tonight, so we'll be taking our girl to see her. Hopefully she'll realize we're there.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Soupy clan! Yay! Wow, what a year to be thankful! We've been blessed so many times this year, and have much to be thankful for.

As you can imagine, we are ever so thankful for my body's ability to 'grow' this healthy little angel girl inside me, and in April, we were so blessed by her arrival. What an experience.

We are so thankful for good friends, wonderful, loving family, and the chance to spend yet another year in the company of 3 of my grandparents.

CJ and I both have wonderful friends at our workplaces, which makes it easier to pass the time at our jobs, and we were blessed to find a wonderful daycare for Keifer,where she is loved beyond belief and is gaining so many new skills.

May you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and hopefully you all have wonderful blessings to be so thankful for as well!

Wordless Wednesday: My First Snow (and lack of enthusiasm on the forementioned white stuff)

Apparently I could care less about snow (says Keifer). Mama is clearly very excited about introducing it. HA!

*cough cough* *eat eat*

Keifer's newest thing to mimic is the cough or sneeze. Elaine (daycare) told me yesterday, that whenever someone else coughed (for real) Keifer would pretend to cough as well.
This AM, I sneezed and she watched me, seconds before attempting to "cough", just like she thought mama did. This girl is funny.

The other night, our girl joined us for dinner. She hasn't been eating her baby food very well, especially since she was just so sick. However, Monday night CJ picked up a chicken dinner with mashed potatoes at Cub, and I spontaneously gave our girl some mashed 'taters, and a sliver of chicken. She loved it!
I told Elaine yesterday to try some soft foods with her at daycare, and apparently she loved the bread during lunch! I guess our girl is bypassing baby foods, and going straight for the good stuff. Well, if you had tortilla soup pretty much every darn day in utero, wouldn't YOU want the good stuff, too? Hee hee. Our girl is gonna have turkey dinner with us tomorrow! YAY!

I *heart* Aubrie Lynn

My mom told me that the other day, when Aubrie Lynn saw our dancing elves video clip, she loved it, and made the comment, "Whoa, look at Treble go!!!".
That cracks me up!

Snowman outfit Modeling Session

Sass strikes a pose

Keifer got these adorable snowman pants from her 1/3 sissy, Maddie, and Auntie Wiebke (Veeb) in Texas sent her the shirt, not knowing we had the matching pants. It was fate! They just fit perfect right now, just in time for the holiday season. Mommy got a mini-modeling session in, complete with backdrop (snowflake fleece blanket), props (lambie lovie), and extras (aka the fur kids). It was a fun photo shoot, and we even lost a pair of socks in the process. LOL. Enjoy our happy girl. We sure do.

The Soupy Elves: Get Elfed!

Mooshie posted the most hilarious video clip of her and her family as elves, dancing around to Christmas music. I laughed until I cried. Then I elfed our family (with Treble, too..........poor Sassy isn't elfed with us). You should try it: www.elfyourself.com

Watch us and enjoy! CLICK HERE

Update on my family

Thank you for all your prayers for my mom and my Grandma.

The update:
Friday, my mom and dad met with the Oncologist. Apparently, mom has a type of lymphoma that is not very aggressive and at this point, all they do is monitor the cancer, and do a repeat CAT scan and blood work every 6 months. Not exactly the best news to hear, huh? We're all trying to remain optimistic that this is slow growing and that if it does decide to become more aggressive, they'll be able to catch it and take care of it with treatment
My Grandma came home from the hospital yesterday, after 2 weeks of trying to regulate her erratic heart beat. There was a big brew ha-ha of sorts, with it being questionable of whether or not she could re-join my Grandpa at the assisted living home they now reside in. Well, they gave her the approval to go back, but they also sent her home on 5 more medications; along with the page long list of meds she is already taking, how in the world is her frail little body supposed to metabolize all these medications? *sigh*.

Needless to say, our family has been somewhat stressed and hoping for the best. We are all ready for a break and for some good news, or a vacation!

TIMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And..........she's over! Onto her side. Giggling like the maniac that she is becoming.

Our big girl is starting to get a little stronger and sitting up on her own for more than a few seconds at a time. We've found the Boppy pillow helps support her; that is, until she decides to lean over and reach for something that's caught her eye. And.....she's over. (*TIM-BEEEEEEERRRRRRRR*) And as you can see, Sager loves the opportunity to sneak in just a FEW more snicky licks to her favorite, tasty baby.

*whoomp*.

We've packed the Bumbo up, as she was starting to fall out of it (and no, it wasn't dangerous falling, we always were with her watching, and had pillows around her if she were to tip a bit). It's sad to pack up things our girl has been using. The swing also got packed up today, along with the awesome mobile from her crib, and it breaks my heart just a little bit to have to say goodbye to these symbolic treasures of ours. I only hope and pray we're able to use them again someday soon.

Mommy's day out

*sigh..........*
That was the sigh of mommy returning to her home away from home yesterday. The movie theater. Ahhh, the grimy, sticky-floored, popcorn smelling, Coke guzzling, crowded movie theater. I LOVE IT. Yes, I go alone to movies; quite often, in fact. I enjoy it, although it takes some people aback that I love to go to the movies alone. Before Keifer, on football Sunday, I'd go all by myself to many movies, and when it came time to rent a DVD at home, there were very few I hadn't seen.

The last movie CJ and I went to was last month, "Michael Clayton", which we both really enjoyed. There have been a slew of new releases since then that I 've been really wanting to see, but as the new baby can do, we haven't had time to go. So I made a deal with CJ - I'd take my Saturday "mommy time" and go see a "girlie" movie, one that he doesn't want to see. And, I wanted to stay somewhat close to home. I decided on "Lars and the Real Girl" with Ryan Gosling, whom I think is a fanfrickintastic actor. It was just showing at the theater 5 minutes from our house last weekend. Alas, it was not meant to be for me to see that. It had already left, and was showing at theater too far away for me to drive to today.

I asked CJ is he'd give me the approval to go see "Gone, Baby, Gone', with Casey Affleck, Ed Harris, and Morgan Freeman. I read the book by Dennis Lehane years ago (in my "read everything by Dennis Lehane" kick I went on, after seeing and reading "Mystic River", another fantastic adaptation from book to screen). He gave me the approval, which was important, because with movies we both want to see, we try to save for DVD if we can't make it to the theater.

I'm so glad I went. I snuck in my Coke, icy cold, and my little water. I purchased my small popcorn with just a little bit of butter, and I sank into the dirty chair, and snuggled in for 2 hours. It was very well done, and I give Ben Affleck props for doing it (the actor turned director of the movie). However, my heart was heavy with the topic of the film, which was a missing child, as it seems to do with any movie or TV show lately that involves missing or murdered children. Watching "Criminal Minds" the other night had me sobbing into Treble's fur. (*sigh)*.

Afterwards, I spent another hour browsing kid's books, my other secret bliss, and ended up walking out of that store with 2 bags brimming with gifts, and maybe one or two for our angel girl (of course).

What a fun day for mommy's day out.

Chatting aka "clicking" with my Daddy

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One Year Ago Today: It's a ...............GIRL!

Here is the post: Treble and Sage had some BIG NEWS for you!!!

And here is the pictures of our little angel then............in her mama's belly!

7 months old!

Ahh, what is THIS?



Our big girl is so much fun!

Here is our belated 7 month photo shoot, due to her sickies she was experiencing. Although she isn't feeling 100%, she still did her happy girl smiles and giggles for mommy and the camera.

Keifer usually enjoys eating (not so much this week) and is beginning to prefer her fruits over her veggies (I knew that would happen). The other night we tried introducing Puffs, but she didn't know what to think of them, and I'll try again when she is feeling better. We also tried whole yogurt with some fruit mixed in, but she got sick during the night and that was the last time we tried that - until she feels better!

K is able to sign "more" in sign language (maybe you've seen her dropshot video of her doing it? its' so cute!). The only TV we let her watch (officially) is "Baby Signing Time" that we DVRed and she honestly seems enthralled by it. She tries talking to the babies! Mama and daddy like to sing along w/the songs and try to teach her the songs with the sign. She'll just watch for now!

She loves the kids and daycare and our provider, Elaine. She couldn't ask for better pals there - she is constantly getting attention and I'm sure that's where she's learning her vocal abilities. She tries to initiate conversations with us ALL the time - and lately it's been by clicking her tongue - then when we look at her, she'll giggle. Daddy taught her that trick!

She LOVES her daddy -when she was sick, it was all mommy time but daddy makes her light up like no other.

She is only able to sit alone for a few seconds at a time - I guess when you're off the charts size wise (!!!!) and your head and body are sooooo heavy it's tough to manage. We're working on it. She loves the jumper and the Exersaucer we borrowed from a friend -it keeps her entertained forever!

Keifer is starting to tell the puppies to be quiet! HA! She has picked up on Chris and I, I guess. When the dogs start in on the howling and barking during their daily neighborhood crime patrol, she'll start "yelling" at them - it is too funny - I"ll try to get a video of it. She gets serious and means business!

Sager is a bit leery of her, as she's had her ears pulled a few times. Treble has been OK so far with her - he sure was worried about her when she was sick!

She is chattering away like no other - tons of new sounds and new spitting techniques being worked on daily. She loves to do raspberries, and is beginning to really say "mama" and "dada" but we're not sure if it's with intent so far. We "think" maybe she meant mama the other morning, but we're not sure. We're also thinking she "may" have said "Nana" at one point to her nana's a few weeks ago. We'll see.

K is sleeping through the night still. She typically puts herself to bed around 6:30 PM and is sleeping 11 or so hours. She seems to be sleeping more contently with the help of a sleep sack, which makes her warm and cozy. Apparently our girl likes to be cozy in bed (just like she used to be swaddled?)

She LOVES her books and music beyond belief. She especially loves this new Fisher Price Nursery Rhyme "CD" player thing - it sings a few nursery rhymes and makes the animal noise and she laughs and laughs at it.

Our big girl is now in size 12-18 month clothes, or 18 months, and mama is having a hard time keeping her dressed! LOL. she is going thru clothes like water! Whew - thank goodness for hand me downs so far!

Here is her "after" picture response to that sign behind her! LOL. Enjoy!

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Wordless Wednesday: Just rollin' around

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Uh oh

Uh oh, here it comes.
CJ stayed home and was sick ALL DAY LONG - I am slowly but surely becoming achy, dizzy, and my stomach is a mess of cramps. NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *wails*

Unofficial 7 month pics: our sick girl

Here they are, the "unofficial" 7 month pictures of "how we spent Keif's 7 month old birthday. Our poor girl. She is actually sleeping on CJ's chest in the 2nd picture, that is how she napped much of the past few days *sniff sniff*. Our poor sick girl. What a nasty bug she had.

"Ahh, yes, I may be sick, and refusing liquids, but I can still say "cheese!"

This frozen peach isn't too bad

Our poor girl. The weekend of sickies just didn't get much better. Last night, CJ and I force fed our girl some liquids, as she was loosing all the liquid in her body through her pooping escapades. Although the pictures of her on the couch with her favorite man (daddy, of course) make it LOOK as though she was all smiles, pictures can be deceiving. If anything, the camera made her smile , as she is our little poser.
Notice how Treble and Sass are on high alert for any droppings?

Anyways, after forcing liquids into her mouth the best we could (bottle and sucking on frozen fruit), she went to bed after drinking a small amount of formula. She awoke at 11 PM, screaming her little head off, and after a few minutes , it was apparent our girl had a horrible tummy ache. She was tooting like a marching band, but nothing was coming out. I did the bicycle legs, massaged her tummy, had her lay on my chest, everything you can imagine. CJ and I took turns trying to comfort her, but after almost 1 1/2 hours of pure screaming and crying, its enough to unnerve even the strongest of people. I suggested we try a bath, as she now loves her baths in her ducky tub, and that seemed to be the magic trick. She splashed and cooed and clicked her tongue at her daddy (*her new way to communicate (in a fun way) with us is to click her tongue, and she especially gets excited and does this specifically with CJ*). She went to sleep, again drinking a few ounces, then awoke at 5 AM. I fed her 4 ounces of formula, but she continued to scream for more; however, she hadn't drank anything more than 3 ounces of anything in the past 2 days. I gave in and made her some more bottle, because I didn't want to hear her scream and cry with hunger. Apparently that was not kind to her tummy, and she awoke at 8:30 AM this AM, having pooped through the 2 diapers we had wrapped her in, and then throwing up the rest of the contents of her stomach. That seemed to be the trick, and after this, she was in a great mood most of the day, and there have been no more shitting or vomiting episodes. She even managed to stomach a little bit of rice cereal at 2 different points of the day, and has had no fever.

Whew. Let's pray this is past and she is better this week and that mommy and daddy don't get this nasty bug. Mommy has a VERY busy week this week, working late on Tuesday for conferences, and having a after school/late night class on Wednesday.

** And in other news, Treble love has come shining through once again. We knew he was our silent protector of "his" baby, but last night proved that he is in this for the long haul along with us. When K started screaming at 11Pm last night, we walked by our closet, where he sleeps in his bed each night, and he was out of his bed, lying on the floor, clearly waiting for us to get up. Once we did, he followed us into the nursery, and curled up both under her crib, and then in the small doggie bed we keep in her closet (for times like these, and feedings, when they like to visit). He stayed in there the entire time she was upset, but once she calmed down for a bit, he left to go back to his own bed. Once she started screaming in pain again, he was a soldier and came back into the nursery to make sure things were OK and that if we needed him, he was there. *sigh*. My heart swells with love for this doggie. Our "boy", our "Tboy".