Evidence

We have documentation of the lurking



just a slight bit of discoloration and a slight roughness to the touch (when she lets us), but it's coming, and it's not alone.


Look closely, it's there, just below the surface. Here. let me zoom in for you...



It's hard to tell on web-quality images, but if you click on it and look closely you will see the beginnings of the end of Gums MacGummy. Also, only very faint and almost not there at all, is a second lurker (we think) just beside the first. See if you can spot it. or it might be some dust on the lens.

Things lurking...

It's there... I've seen it with my own eyes and know it's coming. It sits, just lurking below the surface. It taunts us with its potential for fussing and pain, and yet it is so small.

It's there, and it's coming... Sophia's first tooth.

Video playground

OK, so there have been a few more moments caught on tape, as it were. We've digitally scrunched and munched as necessary to fit through the tubes to YouTube, so straight from there to here to you are these!


babble (00:36)
A little daddy-assisted babbling, or perhaps evidence of our darling's future singing career




Talk with your mouth full (00:57)
Our darling learns valuable lessons about voicing opinions during mealtime



Tomatoes (00:16)
Our darling's Mother has an aversion to tomatoes. Luckily for our darling's lycopene and carotenoid levels, she seems to like tomatoes just fine. Apologies for the sideways nature of the video, apparently the tubes are landscape-only.



Stand on your own two feet (00:21)
Our Darling sure is becoming independent. Only 6 months old and she is standing on her own. ... with a little help from the crib rail ... and daddy.



Well, that's all the youtube that's fit to link, for now. Back to your regularly scheduled Tricia blogging and David not really blogging as such, more like offering punctuation from time to time.

Top 5 New Things

Here are the top five new things that Sophia can do (For good or bad...)

1. Sophia can sit up unsupported for long periods of time. In fact, these days she spends time sitting and playing with her toys, either chewing on them or waving them about while chatting up a storm.

2. Sophia is now a rolling over pro. All she needed was a little motivation to get this skill finely honed, and falling over from the sitting position seemed to do the trick. If she ends up on her back, she expertly rolls over to get toys or what have you. It's great. She rolls over on to her tummy at night, and,thankfully, she doesn't mind.

3. The splash zone is back in the Gerhard house. Stand too close to Sophia and you will get wet. Yes, the famous raspberry is back, bigger and wetter than ever. Along with the return of this dubious friend, comes the raspberry behind the soother. This is a new and fun game which inevitably ends up with everyone nearby being hit with drool.

4. With the soother raspberry came the discovery of the shooting soother. Yup, Sophia discovered that if she puts enough pressure behind the soother she can send it flying from her mouth. This is a fun game, especially when I am trying to get her calm before bed. Or when she's crying. Or when she's angry.

5. David discovered that if you stand Sophie up and have her hands firmly placed on the crib railing, you can let go and she will continue to stand. Please see picture below:

Sophia seems to enjoy this new freedom, while Dad stays near by to catch the falling baby --which usually happens after her knees buckle or she leans too far over.

There have been many other things that she has discovered since Christmas... like her toes. Her toes seem to be particularly tasty, and she spends significant amounts of time trying to get them in mouth. This makes changing her diaper really interesting. Ever tried to get a diaper around a bend in half baby? If you have any tips or techniques, please do pass them along.

Last Friday, Sophia and I started swimming "lessons". Really, it's a class to get parents and babies used to being in the water together. I will write more about it when I have pictures. But I can say that she seems to be enjoying it so far. I mention it now because when we first started the class I thought she would be fine just going in her swimming diapers (which were darned expensive!). Well, yeah, that was fine except that she was mistaken for a boy, especially seeing that the only other babies in just their diapers were boys. So off to Old Navy I go to purchase Sophia's first bathing suit. I am of the mindset that little babies do not need to wear a bikini, which thankfully David agrees with. I checked out the myriad of two pieces, which were cute, I admit, but Sophia was not getting one. Finally I found a cute little one piece, which she models quite well in the following picture:



And finally, the reason why I won't be letting David do Sophie's hair when she grows up:

Three little bruises

With the joys of turning six months old comes the pain of immunizations. Yesterday, Sophia and I made the trek to the Health Clinic to get another rounds of shots. Up until this point Sophia only got two injections, one in each leg. But not this time. Nope, she got three. She got the booster shot for the big five (measles, mumps etc), Prevnar (which always makes her cry, and this was no exception), and we got her first flu shot.

The first injection went well, she merely got a shocked look on her face. Then the nurse had the nerve to give her another injection (in the same leg). Well, that produced a little crying. The third one sent Sophia into big cries, with tears! She was not happy about the last one. It hurt, and it drew blood. Then she looks at me with those teary eyes, seeking help, and I can't explain to her that this is for her own good. Sigh.

As per usual, she was pretty good spirited until about four hours after. Then her legs really start to hurt. We nipped it in the butt with Tylenol and a solid nap in my arms. After that she did pretty good. We iced the Prevnar location to keep down the swelling, and we gave her a nice long soak in the tub (which I fully believe helps to soothe all kinds of ills). Because of the late nap, she didn't go down until 9:30 pm, but that's okay. She and I got some nice quiet time playing on the blanket (rolling around seems to be lots of fun!), and listening to Raffi (thank goodness for his Quiet Time CD). She slept about four hours, got up to eat and complain a bit and then went back to sleep until about four am. I didn't get up to get her and after a couple of minutes she put herself back to sleep.

This morning she awoke happy, and smiling. And on her legs are three tiny bruises from the needles.

Oh yeah, part of the clinic visit included a full assessment. She is healthy and doing well. No issues with hearing, seeing or smiling! Here are her current measurements:

Weight: 17 pounds (and some ounces, which I can't remember right now)
Height: 27 inches (almost on the dot)

She's growing good!

A surprise visit

One day I am going to figure out that it is better to blog when you think of it, rather than letting them all pile up. Oh well, at least I am updating this thing. I could ignore it, I suppose. But then I might get people nagging me about not updating it. It's rather a vicious circle.

This last week Sophia and I travelled to Vancouver for a very short visit. In all we were there for three days. The decision to go was made very quickly, as WestJet was having a 50% off seat sale. One can't say no to $99.00 tickets to Vancouver. So arrangements were made with Mom on Sunday, and the next Saturday we arrived late into the city (around 11:00 pm) to surprise my Dad. Yup, he didn't know we were coming. Todd picked us up, and I called as we were heading home. Dad didn't truly believe I was there until he talked to Todd on the cell. It was all quite fun.

We had a good time there, and got a taste of the wicked weather they had the previous week---rain, wind, snow (yes, snow...it even snowed when I left), and cold. The wind was so bad that the Lions Gate bridge was closed due to a fallen tree across the causeway. Sigh, the power of mother nature is awesome.

Sophia and I spent the couple of days we had visiting some folks. We didn't get to see everyone... and I apologize for that. I am not sure when we will be back, but when we are I will stay longer and see more people.


Uncle Todd took the opportunity to stop buy as often as he could. Currently, Todd (who is an apprentice electrician) is working at the Vancouver Airport. Due to this new position, he has to wear an id tag around his neck.



Remember, Sophia's fascination with Todd's watch? Well, the tag is shiny as well, and it too caught her attention. She was determined to get that tag and make it her newest chew toy. Todd being the kind Uncle that he is, went and washed his tag to make sure that Sophia would have a clean piece of shiny plastic to play with. And boy did she like it. Any time he came over with that tag on her little hands immediately made to grab it! She dutifully slimed it and gleefully gummed it. Oh the little things that make her happy!


Sophia got to spend some good time with her grandparents as well. There was much cuddling and playing with Grandpa. This whole sitting up talent is great because more people get to watch and interact with her, and Sophia loves it. She can sit and play, grabbing things and shoving them into her mouth. If she falls over she has the turn over mastered (finally) so she is able to get what she wants and be how she wants. Both grandparent enjoyed having Sophie visit, and I enjoyed the opportunity to hang out without Sophia. A little independence can go a long way to feeling refreshed!


While at home, Sophia got the chance to meet and play with Sheliza. It's been a while since the two of them have been together, and as you can tell from the picture, they have both grown. Sheliza is doing well, growing as babies are want to do. We had a nice afternoon visit with both Sheliza and Mommy Tanya. For me, it was excellent to spend some time Tanya. We just don't get the opportunity very often (as there are two provinces in the way!). I think everyone enjoyed their time together.

Sophia and I also got to visit (and surprise) Libby and Aliya Griffin. That was fun, as Libby thought that Mom was simply coming over to show her some new photos. When she opened the door and saw us she started to laugh. I honestly thought she was going to pee her pants. I also got to spend some time with Jacquie, which was special as her birthday is today! Happy Birthday, pal! Also visited was Jennifer Eastwood. There were many others I would have liked to have seen, but as I already said, time was very short.

I am beginning to think that maybe Todd might be a bad influence on my child. He does a very good job of spoiling her or at least giving in to her. As many of you know, I am not very fond of tomatoes, particularly raw ones. This concerns some members of the family, as they think that I am going to deprive Sophia of the opportunity to eat these (awful) fruit. Well, Todd took it into his own hands. Please let me offer you proof in the following pictures:




Yes, what you see there is my child sucking on a cherry tomato. She gummed it so hard and a nice firm tomato turned to mush inside. And she liked it! At one point the tomato got so slimy that Todd lost grip and it popped into her mouth. Luckily he got it back with no problems. It was hilarious to watch. I do have video, but haven't got it onto YouTube yet.

And as if the tomato wasn't enough for her adventurous side, Sophia decided to branch out in her chewing explorations:


I left Sophia on the floor for a few seconds and I come back to find her literally bent in half, chewing on her new shoes. Now that is an interesting way to break new shoes in. The baby books did say that at six months babies spend time exploring their bodies, toes included. And when I was an infant, I seemed to like to chew on my toes. Guess it is genetic.

By the end of the visit, we were both tuckered. Sophia managed to find the best place to fall asleep:


Grandma is pretty comfortable and Sophia's arm is clutched around her newest friend. It was a good trip. I think we might just have to do it again soon. Thanks again, Grandma and Grandpa. Love you!

A blog in pictures (part 3)

Haven't seen parts 1 & 2? Well, then, scroll on down...

You've seen Christmas day, heard about the gifts, and seen how Sophia has reacted to them. What I haven't let you see yet is what happened before the wrapping paper began to fly. Much fun was had in the Gerhard house prior to the Christmas festivities, which always leads to funny pictures...



Uncle Todd is the source of interesting and new things, and isn't afraid to offer them to Sophia. He also has a habit of giving into to her whims. Which, I suppose, any good Uncle would do. I've seen Adam do the same! :) Todd likes shoes, in fact, I think he has more pairs of shoes than I do. In this case, Todd has fancy slippers that he brought with him to keep his tender tootsies warm. You'd think it was cold here! In this particular situation, he decided that Sophia needed his slippers more than he did. Afterall, baby toes get colder, quicker, than grown up ones. She has no socks on because it is hard to jump on lino with slipper cotton socks. So there you have it, little Sophia wearing Big Uncle Todd fancy slippers. Too cute, eh?

Well, the cute indulgence doesn't end there....

While removing said slippers, Sophia spots Uncle's watch. It's silver, it's shiny, it's got her attention. Well, Uncle Todd talks with Sophia a little while about the watch and then tries to move it away from her. Ever try to take something away from a baby, especially when she is intent on having it? Hah! Sophia is one determined little girl (which could be a problem later on, but for now it is cute). As you can see...


It didn't take long until Sophia got her hands, and her lips, drool and gums, all over the watch. The kid's got good taste, for Todd's watch is quite nice and very stylish! Both Todd and David kept a good eye on Sophia and the watch. Todd was concerned that it would cut up her gums, but no ill came of it. All we ended up with was a very soggy watch. Thank goodness for water proofing!


Sophia is growing up, and with growing up comes the desire to see the world in a different way. So, one quiet morning Sophia decided that she wanted to explore a little, and moved toward the edge of the couch. I can't remember if there was something there that caught her attention, or if she was being particularly squirmy, but over the edge she went. She seemed quite content with her new position, especially when she found the cord edging that runs around the cushions. I suppose they taste good, for she stayed there for a little while. Eventually, she cried to be brought upright, but soon enough went for another dive. After two tries, she got bored of it. Thankfully nobody got hurt in the process.


When Sophie smiles her whole face lights up. A little mommy and baby time brought out this smile, so nicely captured by Grandma G. Check out those gorgeous blue eyes. What a way to end a blog!

A blog in pictures (part 2)

For those just joining us, part one of this blog can be found just before the "The Little Pink Sock" blog entry.... keep scrolling down.


This being Sophia's first Christmas, members of the family (both those visiting here in Regina, and those away) felt the need to spoil our little one. Both David and I thank you for that (seriously... you sent amazing gifts that will keep her entertained for years to come!). Somehow we managed to avoid the really annoying gifts-- you know the ones that make crazy noise without the ability to be turned off.



Grandma and Grandpa Mantel gave Sophia, among other things, her first "piano". It has three different settings... plays music, plays pieces of music that get strung together as the child pushes the buttons, and a play the keys setting. It also has three physical settings for lying down, sitting up and standing. Well, Sophia tried the lying down setting and was okay with it. She batted at things and kicked at things, but then got bored. So then we tried it with her sitting up, supported of course. Suddenly we discovered that she can sit on her own, with only a little bit of help from an adult type! We were quite thrilled with this new development. Since Christmas, Sophia has gained enough strength to sit unaided for long periods of time and can balance her self if she gets a little tipsy.



As David mentioned in the earlier sock blog, everything goes into Sophia's mouth. It is her main vehicle for exploring the world. It's hilarious to watch and a little gross sometimes (especially when she starts sucking on the edge of a restaurant table. I guess a little bit of germs never hurt anyone!). Things change very quickly in the life of a little one. One minute you're sitting perfectly poised to play and the next minute you're trying to see if you can get your tongue to press the keys. I have to admit, though, most of the time Sophia bangs away at the keys using her hands. Mouthing the keys does little more than get them wet!

The list of fun toys to play with goes on and on... Each was opened and then presented to Sophia, who promptly tested each with her mouth. Among the favorites so far: squishy fabric blocks that offer much to do, plastic blocks that have turny, twisty and pushy pieces, a little monkey that can double as a puppet, and some really cool books: Barnyard Dance, My Big book of Animals, My First Christmas, A puppet Reindeer book and a book about the animals in the manger with Jesus. She also got some things that will hang out for a little while, till she's bigger: wooden building blocks, and some wooden puzzles (which she does like to chew on but I worry a wee bit about splinters). Surprisingly enough, no lego for her -Not even from the Gerhard's. Hmmmm.


Our friend, Jacquie, sent along one of those "good-ole-toys" that every child should probably have. It's the Tupperware shape ball --you know the one where you match the shape with the coordinating hole in the ball? Yeah, well, now we know that Sophia will have a leg up on all those other kids when she gets to kindergarten! She can't use it quite yet, as the pieces fit very well, regardless of shape, into her nicely rounded mouth hole. Sigh.


Sophia's Great Auntie Pat sent along a couple of toys, one of which is a little contraption that has balls inside and a push top that makes the middle move and gets the balls popping. Sophia watches with interest as we push the big red button and get the balls amovin', but when we try to get her to do it herself, she inevitably just sticks the handle in her mouth --or else tries to eat the big red button.


David's cousin, Christopher (aka Slick), sent Sophia a gift as well. Normally, gifts aren't exchanged between the cousins but it seems that Chris had a lot of babies in his life this year, and decided that all of them should get basically the same thing. So enter "The Ugly Doll". It's great. It is kind of cute, and Sophia seems to enjoy playing with it. His name is Ice Bat, and one of his passions is freezing up computers. Something tells me that this is particularly fitting for David.

All in all, Sophia did very well, and will be enjoying her new toys for a while to come. Here's one more picture for your enjoyment:

Little pink sock - a diversion

In the midst of Tricia's frantic posting to get youse up to date, I thought I'd add a little something that made Tricia and I laugh one day.

First, some context. When Tricia and I lived in Vancouver, we loved the "mutts" comics that appeared along all the rest in the Vancouver Sun. Patrick McDonnell draws a beautifully simple strip every week, and we missed it when we left. We bought Mutts books for the cottage for christmas year after year, and they have become something of a "thing" there - they are read over and over and some things stay with us. To wit:




Click takes you to the mutts store where you can see bigger versions.


So fast forward to Sophia, who, on occasion, wears pinks socks. And her feet are little, ergo, so are her socks. One day, in the midst of her bumbo-seated squirming, she managed to get one of her socks off. "TGIM" being her current motto (things go in mouth) ... well ... You can see where this is going, I hope?

An update blog in pictures (part 1)

It was a most joyous and fabulous Christmas!!!

The people came, arriving in the dark of night or the sun of the afternoon. It all started on the 21st of December when Grandma and Grandpa Mantel arrived in the middle of the night. Sophia was a little hesitant the next morning but soon was smiling away at them. Then Uncle Todd arrived on the 23rd. More smiles and adoration. Grandma and Grandpa Gerhard arrived late on the 24th, so yet another morning with new people in the house. Finally Uncle Adam and Aunt Kristine arrived in the evening of the 25th. With all family members present and hungry, Christmas supper was shared and the last of the presents were opened and enjoyed (the Mantel side had done some in the morning, so really, the presents lasted all day! It was great!)


In between gift opening stints, and while Christmas dinner was being prepared, a showdown seemed to be building. It was the dueling Santa hats. After a fierce stare down a friendly truce was called between Grandpa and Sophia, the two agreeing that they both were the cutest in their hats . It was tense, but all ended peacefully! Whew, Christmas celebrations were close to being disrupted!


The whole gift thing was a little foreign to our little girl. So much coloured paper and shiny things, and no coordination with her thumbs to actually help unwrap. So Mom and Dad did the unwrapping and Sophia tried her best to eat the paper. She was quite content to watch everyone opening up, and was quite intrigued by her Uncle Adam as he opened his gifts. Our little one is keen on watching the world and by no means was this forgotten on Christmas. Can you see the look of interest in her face?


This Christmas also saw the first of Sophia's future career options. Our friends, Larissa and Blair, were visiting this Christmas from Ontario and we got the opportunity to have a quick visit with them at the house. Now, most of you know that I do not have long hair by any stretch of the imagination. So consider her wonder when Sophia discovered that this stranger holding her had long, dark hair. Soon enough, her little fingers were entangled in Larissa's hair, neatly rearranging her ponytail for her. Larissa was a good sport and played along. Seemed that Sophia had a pretty good knack for it. Is hair dressing in her future? Not sure yet....

So after all was said and done, Christmas was wonderful. It was a treat to have the whole family here, and Sophia seemed to enjoy her time with everyone. There were no major crises, the turkey turned out great and in the end everyone was happy and content. We would say that it was a great success and all those in favor signified with the usual motion. A round of applause for the holiday! (Thanks (Great) Grandpa Osborne)