Sofinowski Family

My Big/Little Girl

2010-07-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

And her being a little girl and not a baby continues... I forgot to mention in my last post that Audrey now walks, fully upright, up and down the stairs. She will hold on to the banister to assist her. The next thing is so much bigger though right now to me, potty training. You see, sometime in the second part of last year, I began putting Audrey on her potty when she would have a bowel movement. I could tell when she was going and I would rush her upstairs, part of this was for selfish reasons, I didn't want a poopy diaper in the diaper bin, the other reason was to get her used to it. But lately she has shown a real interest in peeing on the potty. About two months back she wanted to go before her bath, and she peed! This went on for a few more baths, but then stopped. She is always saying potty but when I put her on it she does nothing, and then sits there for what seems like forever (hence how I was able to paint her toenails the first time). But this week she has said potty when I go to change her (in the morning, before bed or bath) and so I put her down and tell her she can go to her potty. Amazingly she has went straight to the potty, sat down and peed, and last night she peed and pooped.. on her own!! Now this might not seem like a big deal, but for us it is. This morning, she needed her diaper changed, as she does every morning and once the diaper came off she asked for the potty and she went right away on her potty. I was so happy I broke out the underwear! I couldn't help myself, I was so excited and so was she! She loved the undies, kept saying they were pretty. She wore them for an hour and half with no accidents, but I had to take a shower and was worried she would have an accident so I put a diaper on her. But I feel this is the start to something BIG, and that my baby is really becoming a Little Girl.

Little Girl

2010-07-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

My baby is becoming a little girl. I knew this day would come, but it seems to be happening so fast. Since school ended and spending all day, everyday, with Audrey I have really seen a little girl emerging in front of my eyes. They are all little things, but add them together and you get a little girl. It started in the pool over Memorial Day weekend, she climbed out of her floatie from last summer and wanted to be free! So we had to move her to the inner tube 'suit' for swimming. Since then she has been swimming numerous times and she is so independent and fearless in the water. The next thing as been an ongoing 'notice' and that is her hair. Her hair is down to her shoulder blades... pig tails are no longer sprouts and I can comb if forward so it hangs over her shoulders. And the last BIG little thing is her "pretty" as she calls it, and that would be polished nails. Two weeks ago I painted her toenails, she was on the potty and not doing anything, but not getting up either so I decided to try it. Amazingly, she sat perfectly still and admired her toes. Once it wore off she began requesting I do it again, so I bought her her own nail polish and allowed her to pick the color. I got her the Shrek Forever set and she picked the color Who The Shrek Are You. Not only did she allow me to paint her toes, but ehr fingers as well!!!

Where did my little baby go? I miss her, but am so excited for the next stage in this world called ParentHood

Summer Time

2010-06-24T16:42:00.000-07:00

It's offically summer, and with summer comes summer break and lots of Audrey and Mommy time! A few weeks ago, we were down at my parents' house and she did not want to get out of the pool. And then this past weekend, we were at my mom's house and again, Audrey turned into a mermaid. This girl LOVES the water. So my plan is to take her to the pool as much as possible this summer, and hopefully by the end of the summer she will be able to swim on her own. Okay, maybe I am expecting too much, but the thought excites me. Other hopes for this summer are potty training and learning to use her little bike. No matter what happens, I know this will be a summer to remember. Audrey is at the age that everything is new and she is so active that there is never a dull moment.

Below is Audrey showing us all how much she loves to swim!

Gymnastics

2010-06-21T04:37:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Audrey's first gymnastics class! I am very excited to have her enrolled in an activity and to see how she blossoms in a group. We started the class with some stretches, but this is a class of 2 -3 year olds, not many tots did the stretches. Then it was time for the trampoline, and the instructor wanted them to jump different ways down the trampoline, only the oldests 2 girls did it right, all the others either just jumped, walked (like Audrey) or cried for their mommy. Next it was time to do the activities! It is a rotation of stations, and but the 3rd time around, Audrey knew exactly what to do with out much help from me. She really enjoyed herself and didn't want to leave. I'm looking forward to class number 2 next Sunday.

Audrey about to jump off the larger balance beam and go TaDa!

2 years

2010-04-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

Today Audrey turned 2!!! As I write this, it is 1:05 PM and she has been in the world for exactly 2 years 1 hour and 29 minutes. I still can't believe it has been 2 years, sometimes it feels like yesterday she was born and others it feels like forever ago! She is a very bright 2 year old and amazes me everyday. She has honestly is becoming her own little person. I'm always looking forward to what new thing(s) she'll start today and am excited to see what tomorrow brings.

This picture was from last week, enjoy.

This Week

2010-04-11T07:25:00.000-07:00

Last night I asked Jake, 'Do you remember what you were feeling this day, two years ago?" and his response "Relief!" That's because two years ago today we knew when our baby would be born, unless I went into labor on my own... but we all knew that wasn't going to happen after the last event! Anyway, this week is crazy busy with us making sure we have everything ready for Audrey's 2nd Birthday party! It should be a good time, and this year she has some little friends coming which is the first party of many that she will have friends at.
I've been looking at pictures from two years ago and it just makes me smile, ear to ear.
I love my daughter and can't remember much about life before her!

Almost but not Quite

2010-04-02T05:14:00.000-07:00

I got up this morning and something about today brought back some memories. I couldn't figure out why these thoughts were coming to me, until I noticed what day it was. Two years ago today I would be told that I was being induced to deliver our baby. I was excited, shocked, scared all at the same time! Within an hour of having got the call, I was at the hospital shaking with nerves and had called/texted everyone who needed to know what was going on. It took almost three hours for me to get situated in the room and hooked up to everything. And then the doctor started the cervial dil (spelling?) around 5PM and told me I had 12 hours. So here we are, in the labor/delivery room, all excited and nervous. I had vistors, my mom, my dad and step-mom, my mother in law, my best friend, my cousin, all who were excited as well. It was getting late, and my contractions had started and were apparently strong (I wasn't feeling anything too hard, but the monitor was reporting that they were strong). I was given something to help me sleep, which turned out to be horrible. I had cold, drenching sweats, I was out of it (in a bad way) and was a little freaked out. Around 5AM the doctor came in to check on me and informed me that NOTHING had changed! I wasn't dilated and there was no softening. I now had a decision to make... try again or go home... without a baby. As much as I wanted to try again, I knew in my heart this all meant our baby wasn't ready to join us. I decided to go home on April 3 and I cried my heart out. I was so disappointed and upset, I asked Jake to stay home with me the next day as well.
In the end, I'm glad we waited. I have my wonderful daughter who was born on tax day, and it all worked out.
No matter what though, I will always remember April 2 as the day I almost had my baby.

catching up

2009-09-22T09:51:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's been a little over a month since my last post. I didn't want that to happen, but when school started back up, my time to sit at the computer became limited.

So, what has been happening in the last month.

1. School/Work began - so far so good... I like my schedule and my classes have been behaved. But now that I am out for 2 weeks, I shall see how they are the last 4 weeks together... which brings me to..

2. I had my hernia repair surgery this past Friday. All went well, except for waking up, that was rough. I was vomitting and in and out of reality and then the dizziness from the pain medicine topped the cake. I am 5 days out from surgery and feel pretty good for the most part. I still have dizziness without the medicine, and some minor pain. If I am upright for too long the pain sets in, and by too long I mean a shower's length of time.

3. Our kitchen is almost complete. As I speak, the bottom cabinets are being installed! Jake has been up late the past 3 nights priming and painting, and it looks wonderful! The new stove came today so we are almost there. If the cabinets are finished today or tomorrow I can call to have an in-home estimate on countertops and then we just need the backsplash to be complete and the countertop of our choice and new sink installed!! Will I have a new/usable kitchen by October? Only time will tell... But check out the a picture from the kitchen.

Zoo

2009-08-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Jake and I took Audrey for her first visit to the zoo. It has been about 9 years since I was last at the Baltimore Zoo and it has changed, a lot! And let me say also, that the change is not for the better. Things have been moved to the 'back' of the zoo, and now instead of tigers when you walk in, the pairie dogs are there. And the old walkway that took you to the back of the zoo is blocked off, so you must walk AROUND the zoo to get to the 'back' for some animals. And the animals! Geez, they are far and few! No hippos! And every exhibit is lowly supplied with animals. But, going to the zoo was something I wanted to do this summer with Audrey and we did it.

4 years...

2009-08-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

... and we're both still alive! All jokes aside, Jake and I have been married 4 years today. Four years ago I promised to love him forever, and so far I have kept my promise :) Together we have experienced new things such as buying a house, visiting Key West and having a beautiful daughter. I know the next 80 years (by then I will be 109 and Jake 113, so I'll stick with 80) will be filled with more new experiences, and a lot of love.

Tonight is also the first pre-season game for the Baltimore Ravens! I wish my dad had given me his ticket, but alas, he did not, so I will be watching the game from the comfort of my basement.

Wedding Week #2

2009-08-11T08:25:00.000-07:00

Today was suppose to be about the girls getting ready for the big day, and I realized, I don't really have pictures of that process. But I will give a run down of how the morning went. First off, the wedding was schedule for the early evening due to the fact that I hate waking early and did not want to wake up before the sun just to get pretty for the wedding. With that being said, I was still up by 7am, was it nerves? Nope, it was my 2 month old nephew crying that woke me up. All day my MOH kept asking "Has it hit you yet that you are getting married?" and my response was "No, I feel the same."

The morning started off with begals and champange with strawberries and then the hustle of a house full of people getting ready. In the house that day there were the following people; myself, Nicky, Penny, Dad, Pauline, Jimmy, Sonia and Jason the baby, all in need of showers. Being the bride I was able to shower first and being that my dad had to go to work in the morning he was in his shower. After the showers, my dad pulls me into his room and sits me down. He beings talking to me, and I honestly can not remember what he said. He handed me a card and a box and I preceded to cry while reading the card and then open the box to a beautiful heart locket bracelet.

Now we need to go get our hair and makeup done, and realize we don't have a car, so we end up taking my dad's pickup truck. I can only imagine what I looked like driving back in a veil in a pickup truck!

Then it was time to sit around and eat delicious food and wait until the photographer got to the house to take pictures, there was no way I was putting on that dress and wait with how hot it was that day.

Anyway, flash forward a bit and we are doing pictures and waiting for my dad to get dress to do pictures with him. When he came down the stairs, my back was to him, and I heard my mom gasp "Oh, Mike.." and I turned around. There was my dad, in full dress blues, down to the white gloves, smiling at me. I began to cry (again) and he came and gave me a huge hug. You see, my dad retired from the United States Army National Guard the year before and told me there was no way he'd be able to fit into his dress blues, I was heart broken. I always pictured being walked down the aisle with him in those blues. But he 'squeezed' into them just for me. It was the best surprise ever! I wish I had a picture of that online, but I do not :o/

Well, that's the extent of the before wedding details, and I'm teary remembering the day.

Ok, so a fun picture of us (minus MOH) 'playing' pool to relax.

Wedding Week

2009-08-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, Jake and I will have been married for 4 years. So I figured that this week would feature some pictures from this time 4 years ago.

This is a picture of how I thought I was going to have my hair done for the wedding, but did not...

Next is a picture of Jake and the G'men trying on their tuxes, they are a silly bunch of guys!

Tomorrow will be the girls getting ready....

Surgery part2

2009-08-07T10:18:00.000-07:00

I called the surgeon today to make a pre-op appointment and it is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 11. I asked what the recovery time was for a hernia operation and was told 1-2 weeks before I could lift anything.... anything!? Really!? I have a daughter who loves to be picked up, and who I love to pick up. So I asked when I would be able to return to work, and again was told 2 weeks. It has to be done, I've waited too long as it is, and knowing my luck, if I wait it will get worse. It just sucks. It just doesn't seem like there is ever a good time to do this. This is just a big headache. The surgeon's office said they could schedule me for surgery as early as Friday, so that I would be ok to return to work on the 24, but I have a full weekend planned and I don't want to cancel any of it. Selfish, yes, but I don't care! It's my 4th wedding anniversary and a O's game for a great friend's birthday, and I don't want to miss any of this. So I lied and said I was going out of town, somewhat true, I'm out of Essex for the weekend, just not the state ;o)

Cheerie

2009-08-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

As promised, a more cheerful blog!

So besides Audrey having a first of playing on the beach, she had two more first while in OCMD. One is she went into the ocean and had no fear, the other was she wore pigtails for the first time (more exciting for me than her). We worried that she would not like the ocean, but once the water touched her toes she was all in for the ocean! Jake had to take her out once to rinse off and she apparently was giggling while out there. No fear = bum rushing the ocean in a year or two!

I couldn't decide on what picture to post, so enjoy them both!

Surgery

2009-08-05T09:14:00.000-07:00

I will most likely post another, more 'cheerie' blog later, but this one is not it.

I just got back from the doctor's with some news. For those who don't know, Audrey is almost 16 months old and yet I still look about 7 months pregnant, it sucks. I have been having pain and a pulling sensation in my belly button and abdomen for months now, and after talking to two different labor and delivery nurses decided to go get it checked out. Well, the doctor confirmed my diagnosis, I have an umbilical hernia (a hernia in my belly button). Also, I have what is called diastasis recti which is a separation between the left and right side of the rectus abdominis muscle, which covers the front surface of the belly area. This is most likely the cause of the hernia as well. So what does this mean? It means I will need to have surgery to correct the hernia and possibly the D.R.
I'm worried about surgery, but not because of pain, but because of teaching. I can't take multiple days off of work, actually I can, I do have the days, but geez, being out for long periods of time is tough on me, the students and a sub. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what the surgeon says and go from there. There's nothing I can do, it needs to be fixed and I've already waited too long.

Audrey's First Time On The Beach

2009-08-04T11:28:00.000-07:00

Two blogs in one day, what ever will I do?!

I wanted to share some more of our vacation from last week in Ocean City, MD. This year Audrey actually got to experience the beach... and the ocean. At first she wasn't too sure of the sand, but within a minute or two she was playing and having a great time! We were very lucky with the weather. It was not too hot, and there was a nice breeze and a HUGE plus was that the sand was not burning hot! We could walk all the way to the water's edge and not do the hop-jump-ouchie-my feet are burning from the hot sand-walk :) Which was also great because we all could sit on the sand and play. Audrey's growing up, which is to be expected, but every day is amazing, wondering what new thing she will do, or I will notice a physical change in her appearance and realize that we have the most beautiful daughter who is truly the center of our universe.

Band Camp

2009-08-04T07:15:00.000-07:00

It seems every away message, or message on facebook in the last 2 days mentions Band Camp. And it got me longing for those band camp days, not so much high school, since it was only 6 days for 2.5 hours, but for the college days. For 4 years I spent 12 hours a day, for 6 days, on a makeshift football field (Burdick Field) in the hot, blazing sun marching with a hot, brass instrument and complaining about the heat and how my back was killing me. Yet, I loved every moment! And actually miss it! There are alot of things I miss about it more than the heat and pain. I miss seeing my friends and goofing off during breaks. I miss the horn sectionals where we talked more than practiced. I miss the end of the day, when the Brothers would sing, and clean up and then go back to our rooms, shower, unpack some and then stay up all hours of the night hanging out. I miss meeting new people and trying to break the freshmen out of their shells. I really miss how the Brothers used to do the meals and eat last. I miss eating in the choir room with music blasting and everyone getting to know one another, I even miss Dr. R's taco salad.

I made alot of good friends during those times at band camp, and unfortunately we don't all keep in touch, but they will always be in my heart and memories, because they helped make me who I am today.

First Attempt

2009-08-03T07:53:00.000-07:00

My first attempt at a blog... here it goes.

We just returned from our family vacation to Ocean City, MD. It was a very different kind of vacation then we have had in the past considering we now have a 15 month old enjoying it with us. I will post more details as the week progresses, but for now, enjoy the picture of our first night. There was a storm rolling in, that actually never came, but the sky that followed was beautiful.