Sophia is 8 Months Old!

Gerritt & Sophia goofing off on the couch


Tummy time!


Sophia can never resist Gerritt's cars: She went from sitting in the corner to laying on her tummy in order to be able to reach them!

Sophia turned 8 months old 4 days ago. She has had her 3rd cold, but it was pretty mild again. Surprisingly, Sophia doesn't have any teeth yet, although she has been teething for months. She is still working on sleeping through the night. 2 days ago I was so happy because she slept from 9:30 pm until 8 am & woke up only once to eat at 3 am. I felt so well rested & had a lot of energy the next day. I even went for a long walk with her in the stroller (which I haven't done in weeks due to constant fatigue). However, last night it was back to her usual routine. :-( She went to bed at 8 pm, & then awoke at 10:30 pm, midnight, 3 am, 6:30 am & up for the day at 7:30 am. Needless to say, I am exhausted again. Gerritt went to daycare today, so, thankfully, I can take a nap during the day. The lack of sleep is really getting to me. It is hard to concentrate & make decisions; it is difficult to exercise (some days I am barely making it through the day); I can't get motivated to start on the projects around the house, & I have less patience to deal with Gerritt's temper tantrums (or, more like it, my impatience causes Gerritt's tantrums to occur more frequently).
Sophia now falls asleep all on her own for naps during the day. She usually gets tired after a couple of hours of being awake. When I see the "sleepy" signs (loosing interest in activities, blank look on her face, her rubbing her eyes, fussiness) I put her down in the crib & turn on her zoo animal toy mobile. Once it is done playing its music (about 5 minutes), Sophia is asleep. Easy! It is the night time that is difficult. Maybe she is afraid of being left alone in the dark?
My husband & I joke that Sophia is becoming more "white" (I meant Caucasian-looking) as she gets older. She was born with olive complexion, black hair & very Asian-looking eyes. Now she has white skin & pink cheeks, slightly curly light brown hair & bigger eyes. Must be my genetics that's taking over. Both Gerritt & Sophia have dark brown eyes, & I doubt my husband & I will ever get a blue-eyed baby. Gerritt is definitely more serious & focused. Sophia has the happy-go-lucky personality. She is in a good mood & laughs loudly most of the time, especially when her older brother is around. She will literally start screeching from happiness when Gerritt walks into the room. He has been a kind brother - even sharing his most prized possessions like his one-of-a-kind stuffed dog & the Gravedigger monster truck with Sophia. Gerritt hasn't mastered the name Sophia yet & calls her "Phia!" for now. :-)
Sophia has many "baby" toys, however, prefers to play with Gerritt's racing cars & trucks. Most of the time she wants to have whatever he is playing with. The same goes for eating. If I am feeding Gerritt ice cream or yogurt Sophia will demand her share. Yep, she's had her 1st taste of ice cream already. I wasn't going to deprive her of this delicious treat while eating it in front of her. My Mom in Russia said last week, "What does Sophia understand? You can do anything you want with her around. She is just a baby." Wrong! Sophia is actively attuned to the world around her & she understands much more than she can express. I am often surprised by how smart she is for her young age. They say girls mature faster than boys, & I have to agree.
Sophia started Russian daycare on January 13th. Thanks to Korean grandma, Sophia has been able to avoid daycare until she was almost 8 months old. Since I work at the hospital every other Wednesday, Thursday & Friday evening, she only needs daycare from 2 - 6 pm on those days every other week (total of 6 times/month). She loves playing with other children & the children love having "baby" around.