almost one year later....

wow....the big one year mark is just a few days away! We can't believe that Sophia is a year old, somehow it seems like it was just yesterday that she was born and had her surgery and at the same time it seems like all of that was a life time ago. I have been realizing more and more that this feeling will not ever go away. Some part of what Sophia went through and all the fears that one has as a parent will always be there just below the surface ready to reappear when the slightest thing seems amiss. But while this fear will always linger, the joy and absolute miracle that is Sophia shines over it all.
In the last couple of months Sophia has really blossomed. She is growing fast and has quite the character - she is go go go at 110% all day long. She is also walking...yes walking...Christopher and I are in trouble. She is fast, inquisitive and has the same sense of determination that both her parents have (some might call it stubbornness :-) ). Sophia also likes to sing the "itsy bitsy spider" and "open-shut-them" and she loves to dance. My favorite lately has been her animal imitations - she can tell you what a cow (moo), dog (oof), cat (eow) and horse (click click - like the hooves) all sound like as well as show you what a fish (lip smacking) and crocodile does (imagine big chomping motions).
I will post some pictures in the next couple days. Also, we are reminded again of how wonderful you all are and how we would not be where we are today without all of our family and friends.

new pictures

The day after this picture Sophia went for her
first hair cut.


Sophia showing us how to really enjoy a meal.


It is nap time.

a little bit of sunshine...

Today was a beautiful sunny day here and I took Sophia to the park where we played on the swings, went down the slides and she yelled at the ducks, "doh! doo! daaa!" Sophia is almost 11 months old now and has more personality than you can imagine. She loves the crows or "ra ra" as she calls them, her favorite dinner consists of noodles with zucchini puree and cheese on top and she can she show you what a fish does as she puckers opening and closing her mouth. We are having a blast with her right now!
We had a follow up pediatrician and cardiology appointments this month. She is now a little over 16 pounds - and has moved up into the 5-10 percentile range for weight! She is 28 inches tall, so thankfully it is looking like she will be taller than her mom. To support all of this growth and weight gain she eats and eats and eats. It is great! For all the hard times we had getting her to take a bottle, she is a pro at eating solid food and is not inhibited by only having the one functional vocal cord (this was something the ENT told us might happen). At the same time she has learned to get by just fine with one vocal cord and is able to drink without choking so often and has even mastered the sippy cup. Our pediatrician was very happy with how Sophia was doing.
Our cardiology appointment last week also went well. They only did a chest X-ray, blood pressures and an EKG. Sophia went through all this without a peep and studied the nurse with a serious expression on her face during the EKG. Everything looked fine and Dr. Lewin was happy with what he saw. Her murmur is still there from the pin-hole residual VSD but it sounds the same as before. So, we don't have another appointment for 6 months!!!
We have also been released from any required OT/PT appointments (unless we feel she needs to be seen). Without all the doctor appointments to go to we were joking that we will have to find a new hobby.
So, now we can concentrate on the normal activities...walking, learning to sleep through the night and trying to get a hold of the cat.