Sophia Lee at 6 Months Old

 Sophia Lee is 6 MONTHS OLD! 

It has been an absolute blessing for me to have seen how much she has grown, progressed, developed, and come to be such a happy and sweet baby. She has made some huge milestones and continues to surprise us daily at how quickly she learns and wants to learn about the world and everything around her. 

She has her 6 month check-up with the doctor next Monday and she will have another set of 5 shots.  I am very excited to see how much she has grown from her last doctor's appointment. On our scale, she weighs about 18.8 lbs! What a big girl! 

She's SITTIN' pretty! She will still topple over after some time, but she's working hard on sitting. We practice every day!

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She's TEETHIN'! Her front teeth haven't broken through her gums yet, but we can see them underneath. She drools and puts everything right in her mouth. This is her new favorite...It looks like a Popsicle stick but it has a mesh net. I put an ice cube in it so she can suck on it. She LOVES it! Especially when the weather is hot.

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She's ROLLIN' like crazy when she's on the floor. One minute she's on one side of the blanket, and the next second she has turned over twice to the other side. I can't keep my eyes off of her now...a mobile baby means a stationary mommy!

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She's SCOOTIN' by putting her tush in the air and launching herself forward. She always scoots when she tries to get her favorite toys that are just beyond her reach. I know that crawling is right around the corner...oh dear! 

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She's GRABBIN' her toes and loves being in the "Happy Baby" pose. She is fascinated by her toes and is always reaching for them. 

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Shes SUCKIN' on her toes as well! Even when she's in her car-seat at the supermarket! There's an Indonesian superstition that if your baby sucks on their toes, it means that they are wanting a sibling soon. I love you Sophia, but let's wait a couple more years for that!

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She PLAYIN' with her toys and has a few favorites, including her giraffe and her stuffed doggy. She loves gnawing on both of them and searches for them when they aren't near her. 

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She's SLEEPIN'!!!!!!! 

This has been an answered prayer. We are extremely proud of her as she has finally slept through the night, a whole 11.5 hours! We successfully transferred her into her own room shortly after she turned 5 months old, but were still struggling with multiple night awakenings. Her naps also turned disastrous as she fought and clawed at our face when she knew we were trying to put her down...these episodes lasting up to 45 minutes or longer, followed by a short nap/sleep. We read several books and really prayed that God would give us wisdom in helping our little girl be a good sleeper, not just for us, but for her mental and physical development as well. We finally decided to use the method from Dr. Marc Weissbluth, author of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and his method is to teach babies to self-soothe, something that we both weren't quite comfortable with as it involves crying it out. Again, we prayed and asked God for a conviction in our hearts if it was something that wouldn't be good for Sophie, and to our surprise, she has responded SO quickly to the change. Before, I would be rocking, nursing, patting, and singing to her to help her sleep, and now, we simply read to her to calm her, turn on her sound machine, kiss her, and lay her down in her crib. She fusses for a few minutes, but then goes right to sleep! I am able to write right now BECAUSE of a successful nap! It's a very liberating and freeing feeling that I just simply can't explain, other than I am so happy and thankful that she is able to sleep and self-soothe all by herself. Also, because of this method, she is getting TONS of hugs and kisses from both mommy and daddy when she wakes up, and she wakes up super happy and always smiling at us! We look forward to naps and nighttime now, as we were always dreading who would be the one to put her down! Her bedtime is now at 7:00-7:30pm and she sleeps til 6:30-7:00am. God is GOOD and again, NOTHING is impossible with God! 

Way to go Sophie! We are so proud of you! 

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She's SIPPIN' on sippycups! She has completely skipped bottles (never taken one, even though I've bought ALL the different brands out there) and is now loving the sippy cup, especially when I put water in it. Hopefully she will take the sippy with my milk in it, that way mommy can get some free time! 

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She is DEDICATED! How great to celebrate her 6 month AND her baby dedication at church! It was a wonderful baby dedication and my parents and cousin Cynthia were able to be there to support us. Pastor Steve is on sabbatical so he was not there to dedicate Sophie, but we had the honor of having Pastor Dave and Pastor Mark be the ones who prayed over our little blessing. 

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There are no words to explain how immensely I love our precious gift that God has blessed us with. My prayer is that both Caleb and I will direct her to follow Jesus, to know him, to love him, to trust him, to honor him, and to glorify him with her life. 

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To top it off, Sophie was able to celebrate her 6 month birthday with my family and her PoPo for mother's day.

She's EYEIN' her cake like she wants it! It's not a birthday unless there's CAKE!

Happy half birthday my beautiful love bug. You have touched our lives in the most precious and beautiful way possible and we couldn't love you more. 

Love, 

your Mama

Homecoming #3 and life after as a family of 3

Wow! Where to begin...I feel like time has flown by since the last time I blogged. My last entry was my anticipation of Caleb returning home and it's been almost a month and a half since he has been home now. I've been meaning to write about his homecoming, life as a family of three and how we have learned (and are still learning) to adjust, and how our precious little girl is growing so much everyday...but have just been so busy, so I apologize!

I'll start with the homecoming. I still remember that day like it was yesterday.  My sister and my two aunts came over to pick up my mom and to help pass some time throughout the day. When they left, I was still in pajamas, waiting for Caleb's text that they had landed. I was expecting him to land around 3:30 pm or later, (his unit would land at an Air Force base in Riverside) and from there, I would wait an hour before I left to meet him on base at Camp Pendleton since they were arriving on buses that would take an hour and a half to get there. I received a call at 3:30, and was shocked when Caleb said that he was on the bus already waiting to depart. He had text me when they landed an hour ago, but for some reason, I didn't get his texts!!!!  HOLY COW! I was still in pajamas, still had to do my hair and make-up, and still had to get Sophie ready. It all hit me at once and I thought I was going to have a panic attack! My husband was coming home!!! When I got on base, there was a professional photographer who so graciously asked me if I wanted her to take pictures of our reunion. I was so touched by her kindness and I will forever cherish the pictures that she took for us.

On our way to pick up daddy! Not the most excited face, but I know she was on the inside =)

Buses parking...he's on one of them! 

Meeting Sophie again after 5 months!

She's a daddy's girl 

My turn!!!! 

The Gowan Three...Reunited at last! 

It has been a humbling experience having to reintegrate again as a couple and as parents. The last time he deployed, we really had no difficulties adjusting when he came back home. I guess we underestimated how much more different it would be with this homecoming! Adding a child into the mix sure does change everything! We realized how little we really did get a chance to communicate with each other during this deployment, with the time difference being the main culprit. Because of that, we have had to work really hard to communicate the way we did before, being honest and open with each other and giving the other person the benefit of the doubt. We realized how hard it was for me to let him parent Sophie as well, as I was the one who always made the decisions while he was gone. We realized how much of ourselves we needed to change instead of expecting the other person to change first...and we realized how much we needed God to help us through this time of adjustment. Deployments sure do take a toll on relationships, but with God, nothing is  impossible and because of this deployment, we are learning more about each other, growing and leaning more towards God, and loving each other more each day. 

In two weeks, we are packing up our bags and heading to Virginia Beach, where Caleb will be in school for two and a half months. We decided it would be best for the family if Sophie and I also came along, as Caleb will be gone for a month long training exercise a week after when we return in August. We definitely want to spend as much quality time together as a family and we are really looking forward to this summer where we actually have the chance to do it. The military will be paying for our hotel room and they are even paying for a rental car for us to use out there! It might be challenging staying in a room with a very active infant, but I'm sure we will find things to do while Caleb is at school during the day! I really want Sophie to learn to swim so I'm eager to enroll her in a class, and might I mention that where we are staying is right next to the ocean?! We will definitely be spending a lot of time outdoors and are even planning on taking a trip down to North Carolina to visit old friends as well! Our motto is, "we would rather be miserable together, than comfortable apart." =) Yup, that's love! 

And what about Angel? 

Angel will be staying at Caleb's friends house who lives on base. He and his wife have a German shepherd dog named Mack, who Angel absolutely LOVES. They kindly said they would watch her and we are so happy that they have a dog that she can play with throughout the day and a huge yard for them to play in. 

A glimpse into our new normal...

Angel's new boyfriend, Mack

Daddy reads Sophie a bedtime story every night. Her favorite is Good Night Moon

Favorite place to nap!

They were dancing so I told them to stop for a quick second for a picture!

Out doing some grocery shopping 

My love

At a friend's wedding at Point Loma

Sophie loves her dada

And dada loves her!

At Oceanside beach enjoying the day

Today Sophie is 6 months old. The little one is up and needing my undivided attention so my blog stops here today! Will try to update later!

"4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails" 1st Corinthians 13:4-8

Almost there...

I can't believe this deployment is coming to an end. I remember how I've kept on saying it feels like forever, and here we are, at the end of it! It has been such a journey, but a good one.

I remember how HARD it was saying good-bye when he left in October, with me being 36 weeks pregnant, nervous and anxious about the labor & delivery and whether or not he could come back to see us when Sophie was born.

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 I remember how THANKFUL I was that he was able to get a flight back just two days after she was born to be with us for 10 days and for us to be a family of 3 (plus Angel!). How great it was that we could share, even for a moment, the hardships and fulfillment of parenthood together. 

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I remember how SCARED I was as a new mother, unsure of how best to raise little Sophie, but with the help and advise of family, became more confident in my decisions and myself. There were many challenging days and nights, but God provided in so many ways, from my mom being willing to stay with me in Oceanside to encouragement and support from friends and family.

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I remember how EXCITED I was when we had visitors! Sophie got to meet a TON of family! Great-grandma and grandpa Gowan, Grandma and Grandpa Gowan, Auntie Katy and her kiddos, Uncle Neil and Laura, Great-Aunt Joan, Tania & Genilson, and cousin Ezra, to Uncle Josh and Abi! It was a blessing that so many people came by to visit! It made the time go by that much faster by giving us something to look forward to! 

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I remember how BLESSED I felt by having my family so close in San Diego who loves and dotes on Sophie every day. I'm sure it would have been SO much harder for me if we weren't here in Oceanside with family so close by, and am thankful that God directed us here. She sure does love all the attention, especially from Aunti Ni-Ni! 

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We are so HAPPY that Caleb is coming home and I can't wait to share our reunion pictures. I have grown so much as a person, realizing the love and sacrifice it takes to be a mom, yet wouldn't have it any other way. Thank you all for your love, support, prayers, texts, encouragement, advice, phone-calls and well wishes as we are finishing up this 3rd deployment.  We are so so blessed.

XOXO