vegas

we just had the best weekend ever. you really still can have fun when you have kids!! we went to vegas saturday night because eric was singing for a christmas party down there and ashton was helping with it. we got to stay at caesar's palace saturday night. the rooms were awesome! we are not used to classy stuff :) there was a two person jacuzzi, which was awesome! then the next day we did some christmas shopping, i had to go to my favorite little baby clothes store. aren't little girls so fun?! then on sunday night we stayed at the excaliber since rooms were only 28$ a night. quite a downgrade from caesers i must say! then we also got to go see cori's new house and her cute pregnant self. so fun! we also go to go see ashton's old mission companion and his family. it was such a fun weekend and having sophie with us made it even more fun. she loved the bright lights of vegas! and to top it off we won enough money to cover the expenses for the whole trip! ;) nice! sorry i dont' have any pictures we are having camera issues. boo

sweet dreams

sophie has slept in her cradle next to our bed in our room with us since she was born. so after three nights of sophie tossing and turning and waking up every two hours (blah) i figured out that every time ashton and i moved or coughed or snored (ashton) in the night she would wake up. i think because her cradle is so close to our bed. so i finally had to be a big girl and let her sleep in her own crib. i did a trial run the other night and just put her cradle right outside our door. it went ok, but last night i put her clear in her own room in the crib all by herself. then i turned up the baby moniter as loud as it would go. i could even hear her breathing!! hahahaha (to future mommies in my opinion a baby moniter is a must have! i got the cheapest one from target only $30 and totally worth it!) well much to my surprise she slept until six in the morning! wow! too bad for me, i didn't take advantage of this, and i was up checking on her about a total of 15 times through thenight! but now that i know she isn't going to die in there, i think i will sleep like a champ tonight, that is if her sleeping through the night wasn't a one time thing. one thing i hate about baby moniters is that i feel like i am going to hear a scary voice through it saying "i've got your baby...." ahhh! ashton thinks i am crazy.

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!