you know you're a mom when....

lately i have been thinking about how much being a parent changes your life. here are some things i have been thinking....

YOU KNOW YOU'RE A MOMMY WHEN....

-you suddenly become the best singer in the world and can insert your baby's name into any song.

-you can sleep with one eye open.

-you go into your favorite store (target) skip your formally favorite adult clothes and accessories section and go straight to the baby section.

-you get excited to see poop because you know everything is working right.

-you make a diaper last as long as possible because you have calculated that they each cost about... 0.30$

-you have to wake up about 3 hours earlier than you need to be somewhere. suddenly 9 am church is not your favorite church time anymore.

-you are a professional booger getter outer

-anytime you are in a public place and someone walks by your baby and coughs you give them a crusty and cover your baby's face with a blanket (maybe this is just me?)

-at first you check your baby to see if they are breathing every 15 minutes, then after about a month you get tired and get over it

-you get excited about opening a new pack of binkies because you get sick of the old colors

-doing your baby's laundry is fun

-you get excited about the smallest things, like watching your baby reach for a toy for the first time.

-seeing your baby smile can make you smile no matter how mad you are.

-you will do ridiculous things to see that little smile, maybe even act like a monkey?

-you don't like to leave the house because it's too much effort.

-you have to schedule an "appointment" to be able to have sex with your spouse... (sorry maybe too much info???) hah

-you buy your baby lots of christmas presents, wrap them, and put them under the tree even though they are too young to even open them or care.

-your baby wants to eat whenever you are eating.

-you never knew you could care so much about one little person. when they are sad you are sad, when they are happy you are happy, when they are sick you would trade them places in a second!!!

-you get SOO EXCITED when you hear about other pregnant girls because you think of all the fun stuff they are about to experience.

-you blogstalk other people that have a baby around the same age as you

-you think you want time away from your baby, but while you're gone you call every fifteen minutes to check on them.

-you try to recruit all your friends and family member to reproduce too. c'mon your just trying to find playmates for your baby!

-suddenly your cats that you "thought" were your "babies" get neglected. poor kitties.

-fart sounds are funny.

-you no longer wear your lotion, baby lotion is your new favorite scent!

-you spend an extra 10 minutes on the toilet reading because that might be the only time alone you get all day.

-everyone else's baby's poo and spit up is disgusting. but your baby's is not.

-spit up becomes your new everyday accessory.

-you can tell the difference between your baby's cries. they have a fake one, hungry one, tired one, bored one, and mad one.

-you already forgot how bad contractions hurt.

-you can change a diaper in complete darkness

ISN'T BEING A MOMMY THE BEST THING EVER???

p.s. don't forget to add your email to the post below, going private!!

private

so i am thinking about going private so the entire world cannot spy on my little sophie :) please leave your email if you want to me to add you! thanks!

Dodge Family Pics

We had a fun Thanksgiving this year. We were able to go to Ashton's family dinner in Cedar and mine in Santa Clara, so that was nice. Usually we can either do one or the other! We had the whole Dodge family together so we got some good pictures.

thankfulness

i guess i'll jump on the whole "thankful post" train. mostly because i feel like i have tons to be thankful for, and this is the perfect time of year to remember everything i am blessed with...
-SOPHIE of course! and a direct quote from ashton, "the best thing to ever happen." and i could not agree more!
-more about sophie, the fact that she is such a good baby! i don't know what i would do if i got one of those cry all the time babies! i would not be able to handle that! just one hour of her crying straight when she got a bladder infection was too much for me!
-a beautiful basement to live in for FREE and the opportunity to catch up and build our savings.
-amazing families that we can live so close to and hang out with all the time!
-ashton's friends, they are amazing. they would do anything for him, and i am thankful they influenced him to be the great guy he is today!
-the fact that ashton has a job. sure he had to start THE DAY sophie was born, which was so hard, but how i could complain???
-my education and all the doors it has opened for me..... someday maybe it will pay off. i jsut need to be patient
-my parents. having a baby makes you appreciate them so much more!
-ASHTON the best husband and daddy ever! how did i ever get so lucky?!?!?
-my friends, i am not the best at making new friends, but i still have my longtime ones i know that i could go to for anything and i know we'll be friends until we die!!!!
-i know i would have never said this back then, but i am thankful for the five years that ashton and i got to spend dating and that we didn't get married right away. we had tons of fun experiences and i had some growing up to do!
-my brothers, they are all so unique and fun i just love them.
-my experiences, good and bad. they have made me a better person and hopefully a little bit smarter!
-a totally easy and fun pregnancy! it just makes me want to have ten more babies!
well there is so much more! but i'll save that for another day. everyone have a happy thanksgiving and remember everything you are thankful for!!!

unfortunately, fortunately

lately around our house it' been this....................

...... rather than this lovely face i love so much....

unfortunately, sophie has a bladder infection. fortunately we finally know what is wrong with her! after a few days of nonstop crying and sleepless nights (so unusual for our happy perfect little soph) we took her to the doctor. my hunch was that she had reflux. when we took her in the doc said that he read a study where a high percentage of babies that were taken to the doctor for unexplained fussiness had a bladder infection. i was thinking ya right, well i guess we'll see. sure enough she had blood, white blood cells, and bacteria in her urine. poor little sophie. just some advice for other mommies out there. if your baby is really fussy and you don't know why go get their urine analyzed! i'm just happy that my life isn't over and she's going to get better so i can actually dare to leave the house with her again. yay for doctors! one that finally took the time to do some tests to actually figure out what was wrong!

changin

i thought i'd do a little 2 month old sophie update. here ya go
-she can sit up in her bumbo chair all by herself, but she doesn't really like it.
-according to our inaccurate measurements she weighs about 12 lbs.
-she grows so fast she only gets to wear each outfit about one time :(
-she cries more than she used to, but still not very much.
-she would rather be laid on the ground than held, this makes me feel like a bad mom because i rarely get to hold her, but hey i figure if she's happy then it's ok...
-she is wearing her three month clothes.
-she's totally a daddy's girl.
-she sleeps a lot
-if she is ever crying i set her on her changing table and she instantly stops crying and starts smiling. i think it's wierd, but i can't complain about having a quick fix!
-she loves our "story time" i read to her and she smiles the whole time... until she falls asleep.
-she looks us in the eyes and smiles. real smiles.
-she still sleeps in her bassinet next to our bed. her crib seems so far away...
-i wake up in the night and her arms or legs are always totally sticking out the sides of her bassinet.
-i let her sleep with me in our bed in the mornings after about 6 am, something i said i'd never do, but i can't resist snuggling her.
-she is already so HYPER she gets that from her dada. her arms and legs get going a million miles an hour all at the same time. sometimes she just kicks one leg so my dad calls her kickstart like she's kicking a dirt bike.
-she loves to lay in her playpen and she laughs at the monkeys that hang above her in it.
-she always stares at the same spot upstairs at ashton's parent's house. baby jayden also stares at this same spot and so does poindexter the cat. this creeps me out. GHOSTS!!!
-she makes the cutest sounds when she sucks on her binky.
-but she'd rather suck on her hands than her binky.

ok enough already!! can you tell i love this girl? she's my best friend :)

sophie's blessing day

yesterday was such an awesome day! we got to bless sophie! she looked like a little princess in her pretty little blessing dress. she woke up that morning so happy she was smiling all day! we were nervous that she would cry during her blessing, but she didn't cry at all. ashton gave the MOST BEAUTIFUL blessing that i have ever heard!!! he is the best dad and i can tell he loves sophie so much! i love watching him with her, it's the most special thing in the world. i wanna thank all our family and friends that came. literally half of the congregation were people there for the blessing, it was awesome to have such good support. then we had a fun lunch after at our house. it was a great day thanks everyone!!!